Wild garlic

Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) is a UK native

A native plant is one that originated or arrived naturally in a particular place without human involvement. In the British Isles, native plants are those that were here during the last ice age or have arrived unaided since. bulb, commonly seen in damp woodlands.

• New leaves emerge from the soil each year in late winter or early spring and grow to about 7½cm (3in) wide and up to 50cm (20in) tall by early summer. The long, oval-shaped leaves have pointed tips and smell strongly of garlic when crushed; they die back to ground level as summer progresses.
• Flowering stems bear rounded umbels of six-petalled white flowers from April to June. Clumps of elongated pale bulbs
  These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes. form underground.

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Crow garlic, three-cornered leek and few-flowered leek

Crow garlic, three-cornered leek and few-flowered leek are also edible alliums that grow and spread in UK gardens. The descriptions and images below will help you identify which species of Allium you have. RHS members can use the RHS Gardening Advice service for help with plant identification.

Crow garlic (Allium vineale)
Crow garlic is a UK native bulb commonly seen in Southern England, especially in grassland. Its narrow, tubular leaves are similar to chives and can grow up to 60cm (24in) in height. Curious flowerheads appear in June, initially covered by a papery sheath with green to reddish-purple bulbils (small bulbs) and sometimes a few pink flowers. Bulbils drop to the ground, allowing crow garlic to spread quickly. Underground, its pale bulbs are oval or round.

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Three-cornered leek (Allium triquetrum)
Three-cornered leek is an introduced perennial

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs. able to spread by seed (dispersed by ants) and bulbs. Its flower stems have three prominent sides and grow up to 45cm (18in) tall. Flowers appear from March to June and each white petal has a central green vein.

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Few-flowered leek (Allium paradoxum)
Few-flowered leek is an introduced perennial, growing to a height of about 50cm (20in). Small white flowers appear from March to May, sometimes only one or two per stem, but flower stems also produce clusters of bulbils, allowing few-flowered leek to colonise areas quickly.

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Not necessarily – some gardeners choose to plant wild garlic and it is available to buy from herb nurseries. Wild garlic leaves can be eaten raw and are a tasty addition to salads. Cooked leaves have a milder garlic flavour and are useful as a leafy vegetable and as an ingredient in soups, pesto, oils and pasta dishes. The flowers and bulbs

These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes. are also edible.

Wild garlic flowers also provide a valuable early source of nectar for pollinators, including bees, butterflies and hoverflies, and as a result it is included on the RHS Plants for Pollinators British wildflowers list.

However, wild garlic is a vigorous perennial

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs. that can smother smaller plants, so it may not be welcome in some areas of your garden.

Here are our answers to your most common questions about dealing with wild garlic: 

How invasive is wild garlic?

Wild garlic can form extensive carpets, particularly in damp woodland conditions. It spreads quickly, producing bulbs

These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes. underground and seed above ground. In gardens, it can be difficult to curtail, and is easily and unintentionally spread by gardeners moving soil that contains hidden bulbs.

The wide leaves of wild garlic create dense ground cover in spring and early summer, potentially smothering other plants.

Do I need to get rid of wild garlic?

You don’t need to eradicate wild garlic from your garden. Allowing it to grow in a wildlife corner, woodland border or at the shady end of a veg bed is a great way to attract wildlife, boost the biodiversity

The variety of living organisms (plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms) in a particular environment. Boosting the biodiversity of your garden has many benefits, including supporting wildlife, improving soil health and reducing the likelihood of pest and disease problems. of your garden, and gives you the chance to enjoy its attractive flowers and edible leaves.

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However, as wild garlic is capable of outcompeting and smothering plants that are smaller, less vigorous or come into growth later in spring, it is a good idea to manage its spread and stop it getting out of bounds.

What is the easiest way to kill wild garlic?  

If you have wild garlic growing where it is not wanted, there are a few ways to control it:  

• Fork out seedlings
  A seedling is a young plant grown from seed. – use a hand fork to lift out seedlings or young plants, ensuring any small bulbs are also removed.
• Dig out whole clumps – use a spade or garden fork to dig up clumps and remove all the bulbs and underground parts, looking closely for small offset bulbs. Most bulbs will be in the top 20cm (8in) of soil. Doing this when wild garlic is in leaf allows you to identify where the bulbs will be underground. This method can also be used around the edge of a clump to limit its spread. If wild garlic is growing among other garden plants, record (with a photo or a marker in the ground) exactly where the wild garlic is growing and remove the bulbs in winter when the plants are dormant
  Dormancy refers to a period of inactivity in plants, during which they slow down or stop their growth, conserving energy and resources. This is a natural process that helps them survive harsh conditions, such as winter or drought. Dormancy in seeds is a mechanism that prevents them germinating until environmental conditions are favourable for growth. and will suffer less root damage. You may need to completely dig up plants, remove soil from around the roots to find and pick out wild garlic bulbs, then replant into cleared soil. 
• Smother plants – cover with a layer of compostable material, such as cardboard, and then a layer about 20cm (8in) thick of organic matter, such as bark
  Bark is the outermost layer of woody plants (trees, shrubs and woody climbers). It is several cells thick and provides protection against physical damage, disease and environmental stresses. Bark comes in a wide variety of colours and patterns, and these can help gardeners when identifying plants. The fissures and crevices of bark on older plants also creates valuable habitat for many garden creatures as well as lichens and small plants. or wood chips. Alternatively, use a heavy grade biodegradable
  Anything that can be decomposed by fungi, bacteria and micro-organisms, so it doesn’t persist indefinitely in the environment. Biodegradable plastics are usually made from plants, such as bamboo, rather than fossil fuels. Ideally, products that claim to be biodegradable should break down quickly and leave nothing harmful behind. However, they may need specific conditions in order to biodegrade successfully or may produce greenhouse gases such as methane in the process. mulch
  Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings. matting. This will block light and prevent growth, causing the root system to die. Keep soil covered for a few years, topping up the mulch layer if necessary, to ensure this method is effective. This method limits soil disturbance.

Control methods for crow garlic (A. vineale), three-cornered leek (A. triquetrum) and few-flowered leek (A. paradoxum) are the same as those listed above for wild garlic, with the additional recommendation to remove stems of crow garlic and few-flowered leek early, before bulbils develop and drop to the ground.

Should I use weedkiller?  

As non-chemical control methods are effective, even if time-consuming, there is no need to use weedkillers. 

For more information, see our page on Weeds: non-chemical controls.