Cipollini
Bianca Di Maggio is a classic Italian cipollini onion that brings European specialty vegetable tradition to your garden. This open-pollinated cultivar produces beautiful white bulbs with a distinctive flattened shape, ready to harvest in just 80 days from seed. Johnny's Selected Seeds describes it as their chosen strain of this time-honored Italian variety, and it delivers both as a tender spring onion and as a long-storing keeper. The compact growth habit makes it well-suited to small spaces, while its frost-hardy nature means you can start it early in the season.
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Moderate
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Annual
Moderate
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This variety offers a genuine dual-season harvest strategy that few onions can match. Plant Bianca Di Maggio and you'll pull tender green onions with intact bulbs after just two to three months, when no papery skin has yet formed. Wait another month or two, let the skins develop fully, and these same plants transform into storage onions that can be braided and hung to preserve your harvest through winter. The flattened bulb shape and pure white color make them as striking on the plate as they are in the garden.
Harvest Bianca Di Maggio young and use the entire bulb and greens fresh, when their tender flesh washes clean without papery skins. Slice and scatter the mild, fresh onion over salads, into soups, or lightly sauté as a delicate side dish. Later in the season, allow bulbs to mature fully and store them for use throughout fall and winter in braised dishes, roasted preparations, or any application where you want an onion with genuine character. The flattened shape makes them particularly useful for slicing and presentation-worthy plating.
Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost, sowing them in seed-starting mix at a depth of about 1/4 inch. Keep the soil consistently moist and maintain temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit for reliable germination. Seedlings will be thin and grass-like at first; this is normal.
Harden off transplants by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days before planting. Transplant once soil can be worked and temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Space plants 4 to 6 inches apart to allow adequate room for bulb development.
Direct sow seed in spring once soil temperature reaches 50 degrees Fahrenheit, planting about 1/4 inch deep and 1 to 2 inches apart. Thin seedlings to 4 to 6 inches apart once they're large enough to handle.
For tender green onions with intact bulbs, begin harvesting after 2 to 3 months when the plants are young and robust but no papery skin has yet formed. Simply pull bulbs from the soil by grasping at the base and lifting; they wash clean with minimal preparation. For storage bulbs, wait until 3 to 4 months into the growing season, allowing the characteristic papery white skin to fully develop. Harvest storage bulbs when foliage begins to yellow and flop over, a sign the plant has finished its growth cycle. Cure them in a warm, well-ventilated space for one to two weeks before braiding or storing.
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“The Bianca Di Maggio carries the lineage of Italian cipollini cultivation, a tradition with deep roots in European vegetable gardening. Johnny's Selected Seeds has maintained their own strain of this classic specialty, preserving the variety's authentic characteristics for modern gardeners who value heirloom genetics and culinary heritage. The name itself references both region and season, connecting this onion to the spring harvests of its native growing tradition.”