elephant garlic
Allium sativum 'Elephant'
Bulbous perennial producing wide, strap-shaped grey-green leaves and densely packed, spherical heads of purple-pink flowers on straight stems to 1.2m tall in mid and late summer
1-1.5 metres
0.1-0.5 metres
| Season | Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | ||||
| Summer | ||||
| Autumn | ||||
| Winter |
Easy to grow in full sun and a fertile well-drained soil. It is best to grow in containers where garden soil is heavy clay and prone to saturation over winter. See allium cultivation
Propagate by seed, sowing in containers in a cold frame when just ripe or in the spring and by offsets which can be carefully detached by lifting the bulb after flowering has finished. See bulb propagation
No pruning required, other than to remove old flowered stems and foliage
May be susceptible to slugs, snails and allium leaf miner
May be susceptible to onion white rot, and onion downy mildew