FREE: Yorktown Onion RARE Heirloom Seeds

The listing, Yorktown Onion RARE Heirloom Seeds has ended.

Allium ampeloprasum

The yorktown Onion is from Europe, and was brought by colonists to Virginia in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is illegal to collect these on the Colonial Parkway and in Yorktown (Section 17-35, Subsection B of the York County Code, “Gathering or collecting of the Yorktown Onion shall be prohibited”.). These seeds are ok, and were harvested from Colonial Williamsburg's stock where they have a permit to pull the onions. Williamsburg would often pull the plant before the seeds could spread, to control where they grew, and I would collect and dry those pulled seed heads.

These ONLY grow in the wild in the historic triangle (Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Jamestown, Virginia). I cannot give any information on how they may do in other peoples climate because of this. This is practically an unknown seed in North America.

These onions are also known as wild onions, giant wild garlic and wild leeks. It is speculated that the onions came here during colonial days from the old country mixed in bags of grain. I guess livestock didn’t care for onion seed and left it lay on the ground. The most interesting thing about the Yorktown Onion is it only grows in Yorktown and no where else in the Untied States.

The plants appearance is eye catching when the onion field is in full bloom usually in mid spring. Hundreds of perfectly round medium purple flowers sway side by side two to three feet above the ground with a strong tall stalk supporting the round buds.

I will send a large pinch of seeds, which should be plenty as the seeds are plentiful and small.