Onions Grown in Florida

Bulbing Onion Varieties

• Short-day onion varieties begin forming bulbs when days are 12 to 13 hours long. Long-day onions don’t form bulbs until days are 14 to 16 hours long. The farther north you go, summer nights are shorter and days are longer. In Canada where days can be 14 to 20 hours long, short-day onions prematurely form small bulbs. If you plant long-day onions in Florida, they may never form bulbs. Short-day onions, appropriate for Florida, are typically planted by seeds between September and November or by sets in the spring. Commercial seed packets will tell you whether onions are short day or long day. If you plant seeds, make sure they’re fresh. After a year, they germinate poorly.

Short-Day Onions

• Several short-day onion cultivars will form bulbs in Florida's latitude, which determines the length of days. You can choose from white or yellow cultivars. “White Granex” (Allium cepa “White Granex”) has pearly white flesh. “White Bermuda” (Allium cepa “White Bermuda”) is mild with a thick, flat bulb that does not store well. “Texas Supersweet” (Allium cepa “Texas Supersweet”) stores better than other short day onions and resists disease. “Texas Grano” (Allium cepa “Texas Grano”) is a sweet onion as is “Yellow Bermuda" (Allium cepa “Yellow Bermuda”).

Vidalia Onions

• Onions grown in and around Vidalia County, Georgia, are famous because they are promoted as super sweet and mild Vidalia onions. In fact, they’re a type of yellow Granex onion. “Granex 33” (Allium cepa “Granex 33”) is the standard recommended sweet variety for home gardens in Florida. Its seeds are widely available in garden supply centers.

Green Onions

• You can also grow green onions (Allium fistulosum) in Florida. Sometimes called scallions, green onions grow in perennial evergreen clumps. “Santa Claus” (Allium fistulosum “Santa Claus”) and “Red Beard” (Allium fistulosum “Red Beard”) have red skins. “Yoshima” (Allium fistulosum “Yoshima”) has larger bulbs. “Shimonita” (Allium fistulosum “Shimonita”) has thicker stalks. Green onions will grow in USDA zones 6 through 9, appropriate for northern and central Florida but not southern Florida, which is in USDA zone 10. Spring onions, also called green onions or scallions, are immature bulbing onions (Allium cepa).