Egyptian Walking Onions: The Perennial Allium That "Walks" Across Your Garden

With a name like Egyptian walking onion (Allium cepa var. proliferum), you know this plant has a story. Also called tree onions or topset onions, these hardy heirlooms (dating to at least the 1850s) produce clusters of bulblets atop their stems instead of flowers. As bulblets mature, their weight bends the stem to the ground, where they root and "walk" across the bed—slowly colonizing new territory each year.

Why Grow Them?

• Extreme hardiness: Cold-hardy to Zone 3; evergreen through Zone 5 winters.
• Early risers: Among the first green shoots in spring.
• Year-round harvest: Spicy, flavorful onions from stem, bulb, or bulblets almost 12 months a year.
• Conversation starters: Their bizarre habit delights visitors.
• Non-invasive: Easily controlled by harvesting topsets or removing fallen bulblets. One clump stays within a few square feet.

Kitchen Uses: From Pickles to Popcorn

The entire plant is edible—underground bulb, hollow stems, and topsets. Their compact size packs a zesty punch; substitute for regular onions in any recipe.

Quick-Pickled Egyptian Onions

(Adapted from Sunset Magazine 1993, via Old Fashioned Living)

• 1 cup topsets (~½" wide)
• ⅔ cup seasoned rice vinegar (or ½ cup rice vinegar + 3 Tbsp sugar + salt to taste)

Separate, trim, peel, rinse, drain topsets. In a 1-2 qt pan, combine with vinegar. Boil 1 minute uncovered. Pour into wide-mouth jar, cover, cool, chill 1+ day (keeps 1 month). Yields 1 cup.

More Culinary Ideas

• Miso soup: Swap scallions for chopped stems (add at end).
• Sweet onion dressing: Replace Vidalias/shallots for a spicier kick.
• Salad garnish: Sprinkle chopped stems or ruby bulblets.
• Fried: Bread and fry bulblets, or pan-fry in oil.
• Raw snack: Brave gardeners pop bulblets like spicy popcorn!

Growing & Harvesting

Planting: Start from topsets or base bulbs. Plant ½–1" deep in fertile soil, like any small onion. Many seed companies offer starter sets; they'll "walk" within the first year.

Harvest:

• Green stems: anytime for cooking.
• Topsets: mid-summer through fall.
• Base bulbs: same time as topsets.

Store like small onions (refrigerate) or like garlic (cool, dry) for topsets.

Control: Deadhead topsets to prevent spread; remove fallen bulblets. In fall, cut back hard to a few base bulbs to contain the clump.

If you don't grow these yet, trade or buy a few topsets. They're a joy in the garden and kitchen—perennial, productive, and delightfully weird.

Sources

1. Sunset Magazine 1993 / Old Fashioned Living
2. Gardener anecdotes
3. Traditional storage practices