Shallot

Sun

Full sun, ideally at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.

Water

Water regularly during active growth, keeping the root zone moist but not saturated. Reduce watering as the leaves yellow and the bulbs mature.

Soil

Loose, fertile, well-drained soil, ideally pH 6.0-7.0. Use raised beds where winter soil stays wet.

Height

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Spread

0.3-0.5 ft (0.1-0.15 m) per bulb cluster

Flowers

Rounded heads of small white to pale pink flowers in late spring or summer if plants bolt or are kept for seed.

Foliage

Upright, hollow, tubular green to blue-green leaves that yellow and collapse as the bulbs mature.

Growth

Moderate; spring-planted sets commonly mature in about 4-5 months, depending on variety and climate.

Care needed

Low

• Deer resistant
• Cold hardy
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.5 ft (0.15 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.5 ft (0.45 m)

   full size

About 1 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Moderate

• Plant healthy sets about 6-8 in (15-20 cm) apart, with the tips just showing; follow local guidance for autumn planting.
• Water during dry spells while leaves are growing, but avoid waterlogged soil.
• Work mature compost into the bed before planting; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding once bulbs begin swelling.
• Weed regularly by hand because the shallow roots compete poorly with weeds.
• Use a thin layer of clean mulch to conserve moisture, keeping it clear of bulb necks.

Pruning. Remove flower stalks promptly unless you want seed. Do not cut back healthy leaves; after harvest and thorough curing, trim the dry tops for storage.

Lift bulb clusters when most leaves have yellowed and fallen over, usually in summer after spring planting; autumn-planted crops may mature earlier. Loosen the soil with a fork rather than pulling hard, then cure the bulbs in a dry, airy, sheltered place until their skins and necks are dry. You can also pick a few young green leaves, but heavy cutting reduces bulb size.

Late winter

Choose locally suitable sets or seed; prepare a sunny, well-drained bed when the soil is workable.

Early spring

Plant sets once the ground is workable and no longer waterlogged; transplant seed-grown plants according to local conditions.

Spring

Keep weeds down, water during dry weather and remove any flower stalks.

Summer

Reduce watering as foliage yellows, then lift mature clusters and cure them under cover with good airflow.

Autumn

Check stored bulbs and discard soft or mouldy ones; plant autumn-suitable varieties only where local winters and drainage allow.

Winter

Keep stored bulbs cool, dry and ventilated; protect any outdoor crop from prolonged waterlogging.

• Plant in straight rows in a kitchen garden for tidy, compact seasonal crops.
• Use repeated blocks beside lettuce and beetroot in a potager, contrasting upright leaves with broader foliage.
• Grow in deep containers or raised beds in sunny courtyards where drainage is easy to control.
• Include in edible borders, allowing room for replacement crops after the bulbs are lifted.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Edible landscape, Homestead, Cottage garden, Formal and Small-space.

Plant it with: Carrot, Lettuce, Beetroot, Swiss chard and Strawberry.

Wildlife: Flowers attract bees and other pollinating insects if allowed to develop. Crops harvested for bulbs usually provide little floral food because flower stalks are removed.

• Onion white rot: yellowing leaves, rotting bulb bases and white fungal growth indicate a persistent soil disease. Remove affected plants and surrounding soil; avoid growing alliums in contaminated ground and use clean soil in containers instead.
• Onion fly or onion maggots: larvae tunnel into bulbs and cause wilting. Use insect-proof mesh from planting, rotate beds and remove infested bulbs promptly.
• Thrips: silvery streaks and distorted leaves are most common in hot, dry weather. Keep plants adequately watered, remove crop debris and use locally approved controls only if damage is severe.
• Poor bulb formation or bolting: unsuitable day length, planting time or prolonged cold can disrupt the crop. Choose locally recommended varieties, follow regional planting dates and remove flower stalks.

All parts are toxic to cats, dogs and horses, whether raw, cooked or dried, and can cause serious red blood cell damage. Keep bulbs, leaves and kitchen scraps away from animals. Shallots are not considered toxic to people when eaten as food, though allergies and digestive upset can occur.

• Bulb onion (Allium cepa)

  Most ordinary bulb onions form one large bulb per plant, while traditional shallots divide into clusters of smaller bulbs. Shape and skin colour overlap, so the growing habit is more useful than appearance alone.

• Garlic (Allium sativum)

  Garlic has flat leaves and a bulb divided into cloves inside one outer wrapper; shallots have hollow tubular leaves and form clusters of individually skinned bulbs.

• Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum)

  Welsh onions also have hollow leaves and form clumps, but generally produce elongated white stems rather than distinct, rounded storage bulbs.

The name shallot comes through French from a Latin name referring to Ascalon, now Ashkelon, while aggregatum refers to the clustered bulbs.

Propagation. Separate healthy, cured clusters into individual bulbs and replant suitable bulbs in the next planting season. Shallots can also be raised from seed; seed-grown varieties may differ in their tendency to form clusters, and saved seed from hybrids may not grow true.

Accepted botanical name

Allium cepa Allium cepa var. aggregatum is an older name for Allium cepa.

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states and Pacific Basin.

Native range

Turkmenistan.

Measured

Average height 56 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.