Green Onion

Allium cepa

About it

Kind: Vegetables · Annual
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Frost: Hardy — takes a hard frost
Sun: Full sun
Spacing: 1 in apart
Soil depth in a pot: At least 6 in
Water: About every 7 days

ⓘ We don't know this plant's soil pH, feeding needs and mature size yet.

When to plant

Sow outdoors: Sow 4 weeks before the last frost
Window: Open for about 3 weeks
Soil temperature: Germinates from 35°F
Ready: About 60 days from sowing

Based on your last frost date. Outside the US, check local advice.

Planting partners

What has been claimed about growing Green Onion near other plants, grouped by how well it has been tested. Most companion planting advice has never been tested; the notes say which is which.

Mixed evidence

With plants of the cabbage family Green onions are often planted to keep flea beetles off brassicas, but little research supports it and some contradicts it. UMN Extension ↗

Safety for pets and children

Cats Listed as a problem for cats (NC State Extension) — Low severity; toxic principle: N-propyl disulfide
Dogs Listed as a problem for dogs (NC State Extension) — Low severity; toxic principle: N-propyl disulfide
Horses Listed as a problem for horses (NC State Extension) — Low severity; toxic principle: N-propyl disulfide
Children No information in our sources

If a pet or child eats part of this plant, call your vet or poison control.

Read from NC State Extension ↗.

"No information" means our sources do not say, not that the plant is harmless. A non-toxic listing is not a reason to let anyone eat a plant.

Pests and diseases

No pest or disease notes for Green Onion yet.

Check the label and your local extension service before using any product.

Where this comes from

category NC State Extension ↗ Listed in Table 16-4, "Garden Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs"
climate requirement NC State Extension ↗ Toolbox: "Onions are cool season crops"; ch. 16 lists onions among the cool-season annuals, which it defines as cold-hardy. No zones: an annual has no winter to survive (see the header)
climate requirement NC State Extension ↗ Toolbox: "Onions are cool season crops"; ch. 16 lists onions among the cool-season annuals, which it defines as cold-hardy. No zones: an annual has no winter to survive (see the header)
days to maturity NC State Extension ↗ Table 16-4: Onions, green T=42-50, S=60-70; the from-seed low end. Ch. 18's calendar gives scallions 60-80
direct sow weeks rel last frost cmg.extension.colostate.edu ↗ CSU #720 (Colorado) hardy class, a class-wide figure: as early as 2-4 weeks before the last frost; Table 1 gives green onions no transplant age
family npgsweb.ars-grin.gov ↗ GRIN page: Allium cepa L.
frost hardiness cmg.extension.colostate.edu ↗ CSU #720 (Colorado) hardy class lists onions, and Table 1 gives green onions their own row
life cycle NC State Extension ↗ Toolbox Life Cycle: Bulb, on the Allium cepa page shared with the catalogue's Onion row. A green onion is the same species harvested before it bulbs, so it is grown and recorded as an annual
life cycle NC State Extension ↗ Toolbox Life Cycle: Bulb, on the Allium cepa page shared with the catalogue's Onion row. A green onion is the same species harvested before it bulbs, so it is grown and recorded as an annual
maturity counted from cmg.extension.colostate.edu ↗ The 0069 row took NC State (North Carolina) Table 16-4's S=60-70; CSU #720 (Colorado) green onions 60 (unmarked)
maturity counted from NC State Extension ↗ The 0069 row took NC State (North Carolina) Table 16-4's S=60-70; CSU #720 (Colorado) green onions 60 (unmarked)
min soil depth in NC State Extension ↗ Table 18-1: Scallions, minimum container depth 6 in. A group figure, as every ch. 18 depth is
min soil temp f cmg.extension.colostate.edu ↗ CSU #720 (Colorado) Table 1: green onions germination minimum 35°F
sow window weeks cmg.extension.colostate.edu ↗ CSU #720 (Colorado) 2-4 weeks before last frost: weeks -4 to -2
space requirement NC State Extension ↗ Table 16-4 distance between plants: 1-2 in; low end. The table publishes no row distance, so rows equal plants -- the square spacing of an intensive bed
species NC State Extension ↗
sunlight NC State Extension ↗ Toolbox Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
toxicity NC State Extension ↗ toxic for cat, dog, horse from the page's "Problem for" listing. Severity, parts and principle are the page's poison characteristics for the whole plant.
water frequency days UMN Extension ↗ UMN "Growing onions": "If the planting does not receive one inch of rain each week, soak the soil thoroughly at least once a week." The page is about onions grown for bulbs; a green onion is the same species (Allium cepa) picked before it bulbs.