Allium sativum

RHS Plant Profile

garlic

Other common names

churl's treacle, clown's treacle, common garlic, poor man's treacle

Bulbs Herbs - Culinary

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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

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Loam, Sand

Max Height

0.1-0.5 metres

Max Spread

0.1-0.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity: 1 year
Max Spread: 0.1-0.5 metres
Max Height: 0.1-0.5 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Loam Sand

Moisture: Well–drained
pH: Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun

Aspect: East–facing or South–facing or West–facing
Exposure: Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20): H4

Colour & Scent

Season	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family: Amaryllidaceae
Native to GB/Ireland: 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 garlic cultivation, and our video Grow your own garlic: planting and choosing varieties, 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