Pollinators love scallion flowers. Kids of all ages do too.
If you’ve got second year (overwintered) scallions, now is the time to save seeds.
Second year scallions, chock full of seeds.
Each of those little black dots you see is a scallion seed. Cut the stems, place flower heads in a paper bag for a few days up to a few weeks to dry, then shake each stem about inside the bag to release the seeds.
You can spread some seeds now for fall scallions (no need to dry the seeds, if this is your goal) or spread a bunch even later in the fall for early spring growth. Leeks are still flowering (4’+ tall!) but they’ll be ready to harvest the same way in a few weeks.
Earlier in the season the scallion flowers were teeming with pollinators, as the leeks are today. They’re also of great visual interest, these baseball sized puff balls (softball-sized for the leeks) growing on these stems. Some usually get cut as “magic wands” for little kids to play with.
Moth and bees on scallion flowers.
They eventually morph from wands to whacking devices, but no harm, and just make sure you save enough for your seed collecting.
“ now is the time to save seeds.”?? When is NOW?
Once the seeds have formed! First the plant flowers, then the pollinators do their thing, then the flower dries and the seeds form. If you’re not sure whether the seeds are fully formed or not, pull one individual flower from the ball of flowers and crush it between two fingers. If 2-3 little black seeds fall out, it is done! If not, give it a few more days and try again.