Egyptian Walking Onion

  • $4.99
    Unit price per 
Shipping calculated at checkout.


HEIRLOOM. Allium cepa var. proliferum. One of my favorite plants that is a must in every garden. There are so many things I love about this plant and I know you will too! The plant produces small onions at the top of the plant and when it gets heavy, it falls over to the ground allowing the plant to "walk" across your garden. I take the top onions off the plant in the spring and plant in different places of my garden. You can eat all parts of this plant, the greenery, onion, and the small onion seeds. This plant grows well in the winter, we are in zone 6 and it stays green even with snow on the ground. Perennial in zones 3-9. These onions can be grown in any zone - if you live in a hot area, plant the onions in part sun.

This listing is for (bulblets/bulbils) onion starts.

These are grown organically, with no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers (they don't need any!) But I am a hobbyist and not big enough to qualify for USDA certification.

Given how hardy and truly perennial they are, it seems to me they sure could persist for several hundred years.

These will grow tall - sometimes three "generations" of stalk, bulblet, stalk, and bulblet by the end of the season. They are sometimes called "Tree Onions." The stems can grow fat enough to cut up and stuff with something delicious like herbs & cheese.

Grows well all through North America (zones 3-9). The onion to plant if you always want onions. GREAT for permaculture fans or anyone interested in super cool looking plants that are also edible (and quite tasty!) They prefer full sun and don't mind dry conditions. They will not do as well in damp shade.

You plant Egyptian Walking Onion bulblets just like regular onion sets, but consider putting them somewhere you intend to have onions for quite a while. You can plant them anytime, they grow basically year round here in Indiana. They slow down in our serious winters but then start growing like crazy as soon as spring starts. The hardy bulbs set bulblets on the top of their stalks. Then those bulblets also produce their own little stalks and -- in the right conditions -- another layer of bulblets, sometimes as many as three stories tall. If left to their own, those top heavy stalks covered in bulblets will fall over and replant themselves, hence the name Walking Onion. Bulbs can be harvested over in mid-summer and fall.

You can also eat some of the non-stalk forming onion "leaves" as spring onions. These have a powerful, pure oniony taste. Once well established, you should be able to harvest the leaves freely when they are tender and delicious especially in early to mid spring. That said, all parts of the onion are edible. When you have enough, you can also harvest the underground bulb and use it as a cooking onion. They do not store in a cupboard as well as supermarket onions, BUT they store just fine if you leave them in the ground until you need them :)

They tend not to yield too much the first year, but after that they will keep you supplied with onions.

Bulblets range in size from tiny to the size of a cherry. For orders of 10 or 20, the sizes will be a range.

Shipping Information
I pack plants and bulbs with care and ship within an hour or so of packing them. (Note that I often print the mailing labels a day or two ahead of actually shipping orders. That helps me queue them up and lets you know your order is in progress. Etsy will tell you it's shipped, but that really means that your label is printed.)

I take them directly to my climate-controlled post-office (no waiting in a mailbox!) I highly recommend that you subscribe to updates on your package through the USPS (https://tools.usps.com) so that you can pick it up right away when it's delivered. If something terrible happens to your plant in transit, please be in touch and send a photo within 24 hours of receiving your package. I can't guarantee they will thrive with you if the conditions are not right, but I can guarantee that I ship happy, healthy plants and bulbs.

** OPEN ALL PACKAGES THE DAY THEY ARE RECEIVED **

This is very important. Seed, sets, plants, bulbs, etc. are all perishable. They need to be removed as soon as possible.

** ANY REPORTS OF DAMAGE MUST BE RECEIVED WITHIN 24 HOURS OF RECEIPT **

We appreciate your business!

If you have any questions or concerns about these plants, please reach out and I'll help you.

Thanks for considering!

*Please note: some seeds may appear a little dry but are still viable. Please plant the seeds and if you have any questions or concerns, please send me a message. I'm here to help! Thank you!