Re: Fw: long day vs short day onions

In a message dated 3/2/01 8:47:53 PM Eastern Standard Time,
cidjohnson323@MEDIAONE.NET writes:

<< i  recently heard about the difference between long-day and short-day
onions. Rebecca Kolls said if you live north of Oklahoma you should buy the
the long-day onions and below that state, to buy the short-day onions.   >>

I hope someone else talks about this.  The onion thing can also be a tomato
thing or a pepper thing or many other things such as "Lucifer" which also
does not do it's thing in the north.

If a variety of vegetable or an ornamental that requires more days of warm
soil or perhaps more daylength than is afforded in the northern states, it
will grow, often be hardy, but will not mature seeds or fruit.  We can plant
acidanthera and will never see a flower if it is not started in a coldframe
and set out as a growing plant.

An example for me is kalmia or mountain laurel.  I have a very old plant that
is covered with deep pink blooms for weeks in June - every other year.  The
kalmia takes so long to mature the seed in the blooming year that it does not
set flower buds for the following year.  Some tomatoes have such a naturally
long maturity season here that they will freeze before they ripen any fruit.

We try to grow things from other parts of the world and sometimes it does not
work even though the plant will be hardy and will grow.

I have never heard of Oklahoma having a botanically recognized dividing line
for long and short season plants.  You can always start onions in a flat or
buy them in bunches already started.  For fun we sometimes grow one of those
British giant vegetable genre onions.  They are started indoors right along
with some flower seeds and often grow right in the flower beds.  They would
be considered long season plants.

Rebecca tries to cover the country and it is impossible to give advice that
will work in every state.  Also, she is quite elementary as are most national
garden shows.  I noticed a magazine that is hers, I think,  and other
products.  The Martha Stewart of the garden world perhaps.  But.....we all
have to start somewhere.

Claire Peplowski
NYS z4
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