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BulbsHerbs - Culinary

Allium sativum
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

garlic

A perennial vegetable grown as an annual, garlic produces an aromatic, strongly flavoured, edible bulb. Each bulb consists of a number of individual cloves (bulblets) are widely used in cooking. Garlic can be either softneck which produce bulbs with small tightly packed cloves, seldom flower and store well or hardneck which have strongly flavoured cloves, often produce flower stalks, but only store until mid-winter

Other common names
churl's treacle
clown's treacle
see morecommon garlic
poor man's treacle

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Size
Ultimate height
0.1–0.5 metres
Time to ultimate height
1 year
Ultimate spread
0.1–0.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Well–drained
pH
Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green
Summer Green
Autumn
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
Aspect

East–facing or South–facing or West–facing

Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness
H4
Botanical details
Family
Amaryllidaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Clump forming
Potentially harmful
Skin irritant/allergen. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling Pets: TOXIC if eaten - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
Genus

Allium are bulbous herbaceous perennials with a strong onion or garlic scent, linear, strap-shaped or cylindrical basal leaves and star-shaped or bell-shaped flowers in an umbel on a leafless stem

Name status

Correct

How to grow

Cultivation

Grows best in a sunny, sheltered spot with fertile, well-drained soil. If you have heavy soil try growing your garlic in a raised bed or container. To produce good quality bulbs garlic needs a period of cold, so it’s best planted in late autumn or early winter. Divide each bulb into individual cloves and space the cloves 15cm apart, with the tip 2.5cm below the soil surface. Space rows 30cm apart. Harvest from early summer once the leaves have turned yellow. See our grow your own advice page about garlic cultivation for further advice

Propagation

Propagate by dividing the bulb into cloves

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Patio and container plants
  • Wildlife gardens
Pruning

No pruning required

Pests

May be susceptible to allium leaf miner and onion fly

Diseases

May be susceptible to onion white rot, onion downy mildew and leek rust

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