Red Sensation brings vibrant color to your onion harvest with its striking red skin and widely adapted nature. This short-day hybrid onion matures in 145 days from transplant, making it perfect for gardeners in zones 5-9 who want reliable red onion production. Standing tall at 15 feet when in bloom during late August to mid September, this F1 variety offers the consistency hybrid vigor provides while some sources suggest heirloom qualities, giving you the best of both worlds in maritime climates and beyond.
Full Sun
Moderate
5-9
180in H x ?in W
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Moderate
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What sets Red Sensation apart is its broad adaptability as a short-day onion that thrives across diverse growing conditions. The dramatic red coloring makes it as beautiful as it is functional, while its hybrid breeding ensures consistent performance season after season. With natural resistance to Fusarium basal rot and pink root, this variety handles common onion ailments that plague many gardens. Its late summer bloom time creates an impressive 15-foot display, proving that onions can be ornamental powerhouses when allowed to flower.
Red Sensation excels in fresh preparations where its colorful rings add visual appeal to salads, sandwiches, and garnishes. The red pigments make it particularly valuable for pickling and preserving, where the color bleeds beautifully into brines and vinegars. As a storage onion, it maintains its quality when properly dried and stored, making it ideal for winter cooking when fresh red onions command premium prices.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
In long and intermediate-day growing areas, start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before your last expected frost date. Sow one seed per cell in 128-cell trays, covering with 1/4 inch of soil for proper germination.
Transplant seedlings outdoors after hardening off, spacing them 4 inches apart in rows 12-18 inches apart. Unruly tops may be clipped to 5 inches at transplanting time to help establishment.
Harvest bulbs when tops begin to fall over and dry, typically around 145 days from transplanting. Allow proper curing in the field before lifting to ensure good storage quality.
Clip unruly tops to 5 inches at transplant time to encourage strong root establishment and neat growth habits.
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