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I planted some shallots (clumping onions) which I had saved over winter. They are looking really healthy but some started to grow flowering shoots. I wonder if removing these shoots will improve the quality of the shallots since I don't want to save their seed?

This is what they look like:

enter image description here

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  • You might reconsider saving the seeds. Shallot seeds are rare, if you truly have shallots. Growing them might produce something cool, like giant shallots of many colors. That happened with Yellow Potato Onion seeds, anyhow (look up the Green Mountain Multiplier Onion). Our shallots are going to seed this year, too, interestingly.
    – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx
    May 26, 2016 at 1:34
  • If they're like regular onions, I imagine removing the seed head will allow the bulb time to grow slightly larger. But Shallots are perennials. I don't know if they die even when they go to seed.
    – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx
    May 26, 2016 at 1:38
  • Thanks for advice. Maybe I should save seed. Ah, I had no idea that shallots are perennial! The tradition is to always harvest them in Autumn and save them over winter to plant next year. I'll try leaving a few out this year to see if they will survive the winter.
    – Organic
    May 26, 2016 at 8:41

2 Answers 2

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Just let it flower and drop the seeds into your bed and give you lots more clumping onions. Or take the flower off when it's in bloom and grab the seeds. That's what I do.

It's only going to affect the one onion that is flowering ( takes 2 years to flower so you must have had it for a while now ).

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I have grown purple shallots and potato onions for 2 years. Both years have planted in April and they both have gone to seed. When planted in the second year some rotted in the ground and some regrew. They are starting to flower again. I did save the seed from the shallots, planted and are growing well with no flowering at this stage when the bulbs have all flowered again.

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    Was the shallot bulb quality significantly different when they had flowers and you left them on vs. the years they had no flowers?
    – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx
    Nov 5, 2020 at 7:05

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