Why Your Garlic is Flowering

Among the most potent and flavorful root vegetables, a few cloves of garlic can elevate the taste of your dish. A member of the onion family, garlic requires little space to grow, making it ideal for small gardens and growing it indoors in containers.

Occasionally, you might witness delicate, white to pink flowers sprouting from the top of your garlic bulbs. So, learn why your garlic is blooming and if there's anything you should do about it.

Types of Garlic

Hardneck and softneck varieties

Before understanding why your garlic is producing blooms, you need to know the different garlic varieties. Garlic is broadly classified into hardneck and softneck varieties, and only hardneck produces flower stalks.

Hardneck: Possesses Strong Flavors

Hardnecks typically have four to 12 cloves per bulb positioned around a center stem. The cloves are larger than those of softneck garlic, with strong, complex flavors.

They are easier to peel as their skins slip off quickly and smoothly. However, they do not store very well, lasting about two to four months. Hardneck varieties generally produce flowers on green stalks called scapes.

Some of the popular hardneck varieties include 'Music,' 'German Red,' and 'Georgia Fire.'

Softneck: Found in Grocery Stores

Softnecks are the garlic varieties you can commonly find in grocery stores. They produce bulbs with smaller, tightly packed cloves with a milder taste.

The number of cloves per bulb is also more than the hardneck varieties, with ten to 40 cloves per bulb arranged in layers. You can store them for between six and eight months. Softneck garlic does not typically produce flower stalks.

Some of the popular softneck garlic include 'Broadleaf Czech,' 'California White Early,' and 'Silver White.'

Reason for Why Is Your Garlic Flowering

Flowers appear at the tips of the scapes

Garlic produces flowers as a part of its natural growth cycle, usually around early to mid-June.

• When garlic plants start to bloom, they first form a scape.
• Scape emerges from the center of the plant and is thicker than the leaves.
• If left on the plant, the scape will produce a flower.

Growing Cycle of the Flower

First, a capsule called an umbel appears at the top of the scape. The umbel contains small aerial cloves called bulbils. Flowers eventually appear at the tips of the scapes.

• You can plant the bulbils in the following years to grow garlic.
• However, it can take up to two years to achieve full-sized garlic, so it is more common to plant garlic cloves instead.

Should You Remove the Scape

Scapes are edible and have a subtle garlic flavor

While these flowers and bulbils can be beautiful, it is best to remove them.

• When you remove the scapes, it allows the plant to focus its energy on bulb growth.
• As a result, you can enjoy larger garlic bulbs with more flavor.

Use the Scapes

The good thing is that you do not have to waste the removed scapes.

• They are edible and have a subtle garlic flavor similar to chives.
• You can chop them up to season your salads or add them to stir-fries.
• They also taste incredibly delicious when sautéed in butter.

Moreover, the scapes appear one to two months before the garlic bulb is ready to harvest. So, you can enjoy the delicate garlic flavor fresh from your home garden while you wait for your bulbs to mature in the ground.

When to Remove the Scape

Scapes are perfect for culinary use

You can remove the garlic scapes when they begin to curl and have reached a length of 5 to 7 inches. By this point, the scapes are tender and flavorful, making them perfect for culinary use.

They are also less likely to weaken the bulb at this stage. However, if left to grow for too long, they will become tough, woody, and not very appetizing.

Harvesting Scape

To harvest the scape:

• Cut the stalk at the base where it emerges from the leaves.
• You can also snap them off. However, do not pull them as it can damage your plant.
• You may have to visit your vegetable garden every week to remove the scape, as all of them do not appear at the same time.

How to Harvest Garlic

Cure the garlic to prolong its shelf-life

To determine when garlic is ready for harvesting, look at the foliage. If about half of the foliage is turning yellow while the rest of the leaves are green, and the plant starts to fall over, you can harvest the garlic bulbs.

• Carefully dig around the bulbs to avoid any damage to the bulb.
• Once loosened, gently lift them and shake off excess soil.
• Cure the garlic to prolong its shelf-life by hanging it in a cool, dry, shaded space for four to six weeks.

OK, Bloomer! Among the two common garlic varieties, hardnecks are the only ones to produce blooms. Garlic plants throw out flower stalks as part of their growing cycle. However, cut the stalks off to help the plant grow bigger, more flavorful bulbs. Enjoy the stalks in your culinary adventures to infuse subtle garlicky flavors in your dishes!

How was your experience planting garlic in your garden? Share with your friends and share some yummy garlic love!