let me get this out of the way right up front: i kill plants. i don’t mean to. it just… happens. succulent from ikea? killed it. basil? dead. rosemary? weird bug/fungus situation –> trash. cilantro? caught plague from the rosemary. buh bye. basically, anything that requires soil and water (and has opinions about how much of each it would like and when, please and thank you) will inevitably be toast.
the one “exception”, if it’s fair to categorize it as such, is plants that just need water. like cut flowers. i’m awesome at keeping cut flowers alive for a few days. i’ve totally got that down. add water. don’t let all of the water evaporate (more than once, anyway). done. i can totally do that. i’m basically a master at cut flowers. (by which i mean, once a year i have cut flowers and they stay alive for a reasonable length of time that one would expect cut flowers to stay alive. i’ll take it!)
based on my cut flower mastery (and the fact that basil hates the fridge), when i buy basil at the grocery store (because, see above re: killing the potted version), i will stick it in a glass of water and leave it in a sunny spot. sometimes it totally wilts. within 24 hours. to mock me.
sometimes – sometimes though! – sometimes it grows roots and has a happy little life for a while. and i feel like i’ve got this “growing plants” thing down. spurred on by this success, plus my loathing for wasting food, and, of course, the endless rabbit holes of the internet, i got it into my head that i was going to try to grow green onions from cuttings.
the premise is simple: cut scallions about an inch above their roots. stick the roots in water. wait. cut scallions and sprinkle on grilled eggplant with tzatziki, feta, and mint. (what? it’s only slightly wishful thinking. i was, in fact, grilling eggplant just the other day. sure, it came from the grocery store and yes, i was wearing snow boots, but mostly that was because they are still sitting by the door. also because it wasn’t super warm outside, but we’ll just focus on the fact that the grill didn’t have any snow on it that needed to be brushed off. winning!)
where was i? right! growing scallions in water! i wasn’t sure what to expect but it totally worked! i have real live green onions that appeared out of nowhere! (well, ok, out of a jar full of water and roots, but that’s almost like nowhere.) sure, they are a little floppier than green onions that had the benefit of things like soil, but they are still legit green onions.
the ones on the left in the photos i started just a few days ago (because now that i know that it works, can’t stop, won’t stop turning kitchen scraps into new food!) and the ones on the right are about 2 weeks old. the big ones have basically stopped growing, which i think is my cue to harvest them, before they all flop over and die just to mock me and my enthusiasm (plants can be very vindictive).
every few days, i rinse out the jar and give the scallions fresh water. aaaaand that’s it! they do the rest. after a few days, i removed the bad apples that didn’t show any signs of growing even though all their friends were doing it, so they wouldn’t poison their friends, but that was only one or two out of about a dozen – way better than my track record with soil plants!
believe me, friends, if i can grow scallions from cuttings, you can too! now, if you’ll excuse me, i have to go abruptly end the drought that my soil plants endure in between their weekly floodings…
recipes to use green onions
now that you’re a green onion growing boss, check out these tasty ways to use your new PLANTS!
wintry citrus rice and quinoa salad
creamy miso roasted mushroom soup
eggplant and green bean green curry
how to grow green onions from cuttings
Save to BigOven 
Ingredients
- green onions with root and about 1” (2.5 cm) of white attached
- small glass jar
- water
Instructions
- place the green onions in the jar, root side down. add 1” of water to the jar. set in a warm, sunny spot.
- every few days, change the water in the jar. in about 2 weeks, you’ll have new, fully grown scallions, ready to add to your dinner!
Nutrition Facts
how to grow green onions from cuttings
Serves: varies
| Amount Per Serving: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 2 | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 0 g. | 0 | |
| Saturated Fat 0 g. | 0 | |
| Trans Fat 0 g. | ||
| Cholesterol 0 mg. | 0 | |
| Sodium 0 mg. | 0 | |
| Total Carbohydrate 0 g. | 0 | |
| Dietary Fiber 0 g. | 0 | |
| Sugars 0 g. | ||
| Protein 0 g. | ||
| Vitamin A | Vitamin C | |
| Calcium | Iron | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
tasty seasons
did you use this tip? i’d love to know how it worked for you! leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #tastyseasons.
This is AWESOME!!!!! I hardly buy green onions because I end up forgetting about them in the back of the frig and they get all gross and slimy. But this! THIS is genius!!! I have some green onions and will do this right now before they go south. Thank you for such a great tip!
yay! i’m thrilled to hear this is so helpful to you! 🙂 i wasn’t sure it would work (because i seriously cannot with plants) and was so pleasantly surprised to see the green shoots sprouting up. i hope you have lots of delicious green onions very soon!
I’m doing this for my toddler & preschool class today because I bought green onions yesterday that my fantasy self was going to sprinkle on top of some fancy omelette that I have no time to make. Looks better than the bean in a ziplock bag and they can take it home and ask their adult to make some food out of it! Also, I love your writing style and humor. You got my first smile & laugh of the day, thank you! I’m a fan!
i hear you on the ingredients that my fantasy self purchases that i then get stuck trying to use before they go bad! i’m glad to be able to help a fellow aspirational grocery shopper out of a pinch. 🙂 thank YOU for putting a smile on my face this morning with your kind words and for your efforts to keep your kiddos healthy and occupied during these nutty times!
I’m so glad I stumbled on this! I’ve been so sad for so long at wasting my herbs because they either get lost in the fridge, or just too much for one person to consume before they wilt. Do you think this method would work with cilantro if it has the roots attached? My major plant goal is to grow Thai basil as it’s so hard to find and I would put it in everything I make, but I’ve never found it with a stem, always in a clamshell, bottom lopped off. Worth trying? I too can’t keep a plant alive to save my life, so this will be an experiment either way!
Also, love your sense of humour and happy I ran across your site!
hi meghan! i’m glad you’re here too! this is a safe space for accidental plant killers. 🙂 to your question, i would say a) sure! give it a try! what’s the harm? and b) i am just about the least qualified person on the whole internet to answer your question. also, while i think it’s totally worth a shot, i would not at all rely on this experiment to provide the cilantro for the chimichurri that is the centerpiece of the meal you are cooking for your boss, your soon to be in-laws, and the building inspector whom you need to overlook the slight deviation from plan in your new addition (this is a post-covid nightmare dinner, obviously).
BUT! since you mentioned thai basil (yum! i have a few recipes that use it, including an ice cream (please ignore the dreadful photos from the second recipe i ever published)), i will say that i have *sometimes* had good luck pretending that basil, thai or otherwise, is fresh flowers and snipping off the bottom of the stem, sticking it in a jar of water, and putting it somewhere warm and sunny. sometimes the universe smiles on me and the basil will start growing roots from the fresh cut and then keep itself alive for a few weeks before it notices that there’s no soil or nutrients, and then eventually dies. other times i end up with a jar of water and dead basil basically the very next day. but basil is my second most successful water growing “plant”, and yes, thai basil is very difficult to find, especially for how delicious and unique the flavor is.
so, overall, that’s a maybe on the cilantro and a strong maybe on the thai basil. good luck!
I had a lot of luck with basil during COVID, so much so that my own children called the basil my “basil children”. It was such a joy to see it growing when the rest of the world seemed so out of whack.
Once you harvest the new growth, will they continue to regrow?
hi lori,
yes, they will continue to regrow after you harvest the new growth, but not as quickly or as much. they definitely catch on to the fact that they are being exploited. i’d say they are good for 2 – 3 rounds, but sadly, we have not unlocked the key to a lifetime supply of green onions.
Have you tried adding a little bit of plant food? I have an aerogarden so I’m trying this next to the aero (for the light). They’re growing fast! I’m wondering if you can keep “recycling” them if you feed them a little bit of the miracle gro liquid plant food that comes with the aero.
I haven’t tried adding plant food but it seems promising (assuming the plant food is safe for plants you intend to eat)! If you tried it, how did it go?
I love doing this! I don’t change the water that much though, it seems they like it better when I let them do their thing!! This one is conquering the whole table, I lifted it up and it was holding a receipt!! They beautiful!