How tp plant a Pregnant Onion

Hi,
I received this on trade & was instructed to plant about 1/3 of the bulb in the ground. But I was covering the 'babies' & I was afraid it would rot. So I more or less placed it on top of the ground, which it tends to want to lean. Maybe I need a different growing medium other than potting soil? Any thoughts would be appreciated! :)
Thanks.

I have several pregnant onion plants and all are basically sitting on top of the soil. I nestle them in slightly so that they don't fall over. I have found that planting them in regular potting soil works best, but I do scatter about 1/4 " of sand on the surface to help anchor the bulb. They quickly send out roots, so in no time they are established and you don't have to worry about the staying upright. I love the oddness of these plants. Ever see a false sea onion? Even odder!!!

This message was edited Mar 18, 2008 12:37 AM

plantkiller,

I have populated the people in the Mid Atlantic Forum with babies from my Pregnant Onion.

Gosh! There is so much i could tell you about this plant!

I got my original one from someone in CA. She told me that they really need a fast-draining soil and like to be on the dry side. Done! I planted it (and soon them) in a heavy, 18" clay window box.
They grow SOOO fast! AND--they make those "babies" all over the place. Many of threm, actually, form underground and many grow just around the base of the parent bulb--and some grow under the skins of the bigger bulbs.
If you have decent sized bulbs/onions, in 2 years you will have to transplant them all--individually--into their own clay pots. I always use clay pots so they don't get wet feet...I do put about the bottom 1/3 underground when I plant them.

If you have never yet tried to separate all the "onions" that have become root-bound, LOOK OUT!!!! Get your sharp knives or hatchets out! It is NOT an easy task! Of course, in the process, all these little baby onions will be falling off like marbles. You can plant a bunch of them in a 4" or 6" shallow pot and let them all root. Just pay attention which end is up--and which is down. Keep all these outside in the Summer in, say, morning light. Water as needed. I have never fertilized mine.
In the winter, I take them downstairs and put them by the tiny window in my Laundry Room and--basically--ignore them. It is during this time that the bulbs get really large.

Have you seen the 4' bloom stalk they send out yet???? It is amazing!

I have lots of pictures. What would you like to see?

Let me go look. Maybe I can post a couple tonight--but it is getting late......

Gita

Here is a shot at the top of the surface of my PO planter.....I call it the "Nursery"!

Here's a close-up of the end of the long stalk which is where the blooms are. And--they do dry and make seeds.....

I have some very large pregnant onion bulbs, I am trying to figure out how to remove them and seperate them out. I keep reading about digging them out and that they are hard to seperate but no actual description of what to do. I have 4 bulbs in the region of around 4 inches wide each growing in a clump. They are right up against my 5ft avacado tree and I think they are killing it off. I would like to seperate them out into individual plants and hang them from my loft down into the living room, the leaves grow six feet long accross the living room floor and get walked on by everyone. I would not take any chance on harming these plants and I cannot find out if some root damage in seperating them is going to do serious damage to them. They are very much like a bulb and my instinct tells me that they will simply re root when transplanted. Someone has to be able to describe step by step what to do and watch for or be carefull of or what not to worry about in digging up seperating and transplanting large pregnant onion bulbs.