VegetableOnion
Tokyo Long White Onion
Tokyo Long White Onion is a Japanese bunching onion that grows fast and easy, producing tender white stalks with bright green tops in just 60 to 90 days. Unlike traditional bulbing onions, this heirloom cultivar (Allium fistulosum) focuses all its energy into long, crisp stalks perfect for fresh eating rather than underground storage. Hardy from zones 2 through 9, it thrives in full sun and reaches 14 to 24 inches tall, making it a prolific producer whether you're growing in garden beds, raised beds, or containers. The clean, mild flavor and generous yields have made it a staple in Japanese cuisine and a favorite among gardeners seeking reliable, fast-growing onions.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
2-9
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam; Tolerates Moderate Fertility
Growth Stats
24 in
Height
Spacing
2
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
2-9
Size
24in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
Moderate
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Highlights
These bunching onions mature in 60 to 90 days, making them one of the fastest onions you can grow from seed. The extra-long white stalks stay tender and develop a bright green top, creating a visually striking plant that's as beautiful in the garden as it is on the plate. Cold tolerance and drought resilience mean Tokyo Long adapts to challenging conditions, while its suitability for greenhouses, raised beds, containers, and direct garden planting gives you flexibility in how you grow it.
Common Uses
Harvest Tokyo Long White Onion as tender young scallions for salads, stir-fries, and garnishes where you want bright color and mild onion flavor. The long white stalk and green top are both edible and flavorful, unlike traditional bulbing onions where the stalk is often discarded. Use them fresh from the garden, grilled whole, chopped into fried rice, scattered over soups, or sliced thin for garnishes on Asian noodle dishes and grain bowls.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Direct Sow
Sow seeds directly into garden soil, raised beds, or containers in early spring as soon as soil can be worked, or in late summer for a fall crop. Press seeds into moist soil at a shallow depth and keep the seedbed consistently moist until germination, which typically occurs within 7 to 10 days. Thin seedlings to 2 inches apart once they reach 1 inch tall, or allow them to grow close together for more tender, pencil-thin scallions.
Harvesting
Begin harvesting Tokyo Long White Onion when stalks reach 6 to 8 inches tall, typically 30 to 40 days after sowing, or wait until they reach full maturity at 60 to 90 days for larger, meatier specimens. The white stalk should be firm and crisp to the touch; harvest by gently pulling the entire plant from the soil or cutting stalks 1 inch above the base to encourage regrowth. Continue harvesting throughout the season as new leaves emerge from the base, or pull mature plants to make room for succession plantings.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Pests & Diseases
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Allium fistulosum
Family
Amaryllidaceae
Genus
Allium
Native Status
L48 (I)AK (I)CAN (N)
History & Origin
“Tokyo Long White Onion represents a distinctly Japanese approach to onion breeding, one that prioritizes the tender stalk and green top over bulb development. As a heirloom, open-pollinated variety, it carries generations of selection within Japanese agricultural tradition, developed specifically for fresh bunching rather than storage. The variety has traveled from Japanese gardens to seed catalogs worldwide, where it remains prized by growers who recognize that this cultivar outpaces traditional bulbing onions in speed, ease, and flavor when harvested young.”