Garlic is a relatively easy plant to grow, but how do you choose which type of garlic to grow? There’s softneck garlic, hardneck garlic, and elephant garlic. Which one is right for you?
Let’s compare the three types of garlic and determine what kind of garlic you should grow in your vegetable garden.
Know Your Hardiness Zone
Before choosing which kind of garlic to grow, you’ll need to know your plant hardiness zone.
I have a whole post about hardiness zones and know when it’s safe to plant here if you want to know more.
Read on if you’re ready to learn about softneck, hardneck, and elephant garlic.
Softneck Garlic
Softneck garlic has a “soft neck,” meaning that it does not grow a hard central stem or flowering stalk (a scape). Because they do not grow the flowering stalk, they typically have more cloves than hardneck garlic.
This is the best type of garlic to braid!
Softneck garlic has a milder flavor and keeps longer. Most grocery store garlic is soft-neck.
There are two main types of softneck garlic: artichoke and silverskin.
Artichoke softneck garlic kind of looks like artichokes with many overlapping layers of garlic cloves.
Silverskin garlic is similar to artichoke garlic, but a bit smaller in size. It’s one of the longest storing types of garlic and tends to have a more aggressive flavor than artichoke types.
Which Zones Can Grow Softneck Garlic?
This type of garlic is recommended for growing in warmer regions of the United States. If you live in Zones 6-11, you can grow softneck garlic.
Those in cooler zones can try to grow softneck as well, just make sure to keep garlic well-mulched if there is a chance of a hard frost.
I’m in Zone 6 and I grow my softneck garlic up against the south side of our brick house with a thick layer of wood chip mulch on the plants. It’s always done well for me in this spot. I explain more about how to grow garlic in this post.
Some Softneck Garlic Varieties to Consider Growing
- California Early: early maturing artichoke type, easy to separate cloves, mild garlic flavor
- Inchelium Red: mid-season maturing artichoke type, large size heads
- Nootka Rose: productive silverskin variety with pink wrappers under a white outer skin, one of the longest storing cultivars, no cold period needed
Hardneck Garlic
On the other hand, hard-neck garlic has a hard central stem that goes through the center of the bulb.
This happens because it produces flower scapes in the spring. The flower stalk gives the garlic bulb a hard neck.
I recommend cutting the flower scapes off once it curls to divert the plant’s energy back into the bulb.
Typically, hardneck garlic will be easier to peel, larger cloves than softneck garlic and have a stronger flavor, but will not last as long in storage.
There are three main types of hardneck garlic; porcelain, rocambole, and purple stripe.
Porcelain types are very hardy and produce large sized bulbs with plump cloves. These types are moderately easy to peel.
Rocambole garlic has a shorter storage life and produces several large cloves per bulb. These are known to be more difficult to grow.
Purple stripe garlic varieties have, you guessed it, purple stripes! These are beautiful garlic bulbs with good flavor and are easy to grow.
Which Zones Can Grow Hardneck Garlic?
Hardneck garlic also requires vernalization, or a cold period, to grow well. They need at least 10 weeks of cold to produce a bulb.
If you live in Zones 1-6, you can grow hardneck garlic.
For warmer zones, like Zones 7-8, keep in mind that hardneck garlic needs cold temperatures to bulb up. You can try putting your garlic in the refrigerator for 8 weeks before planting out your garlic in the late fall or early winter. (This trick also works for flower bulbs that require vernalization, too!)
Some Hardneck Garlic Varieties to Grow
- Music: a porcelain-type garlic that produces large, easy-to-peel cloves (one of my favorites)
- Chesnok Red: a purple stripe variety with rich, sweet flavor and medium to large cloves
- German Red: a rocambole garlic that is robust and hardy with great flavor
- Georgian Fire: a porcelain garlic with pinkish cloves and a hot, strong flavor
Elephant Garlic: Not a Real Garlic?
Imagine someone asking to borrow a clove of garlic for a recipe and you hand them one of these bad boys.
One head of garlic is almost the same size as an onion!
Elephant garlic is like garlic on steroids. It grows huge bulbs and has a mild taste.
Technically it is not a true garlic, but a leek. However, it tastes just like garlic and can be planted the same way as garlic.
Elephant garlic grows a gigantic bulb, splits into cloves, and grows a flower scape just like hardneck garlic.
I grow this every year, mostly for fun, but it also does taste good.
I’ve discovered that it can somewhat perennialize if you continue to replant the tiny cloves, or bulbils, that grow alongside the bulbs.
These little bulbils grow into one large, round bulb, which can be planted again for a second time to grow an even larger bulb that splits into cloves.
Elephant garlic is an excellent variety for gardeners in warmer regions. I think it’s really exciting to grow and harvest!
I hope you try it some time!
Which Type of Garlic Should You Grow?
To recap, there are two main types of garlic to grow: hardneck and softneck.
Hardneck varieties need a cold period to grow and are generally easier to peel. They produce a flower stalk which gives them their “hard neck.”
Softneck varieties can grow in warm climates with no vernalization and generally store for a long period of time. They do not produce a flower stalk and may have more cloves than hardneck garlic varieties.
If you live in very cold zones, like Zones 1-5, you should grow hardneck.
If you live in areas with no frost, like Zones 9-11, you should grow softneck.
Everyone in between can reasonably grow either type.
Try growing both types if you’re not sure!
And if you want my step-by-step guide on how to grow garlic, check out this post next.
Where to Buy Hardneck and Softneck Seed Garlic
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you buy through my links, I could earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. I only discuss products that I love and think you’ll love, too. I’m glad you’re here and thanks for reading!
I recommend getting seed garlic from reputable companies. Here are a few online seed companies that sell hardneck and softneck garlic.
Hello!
Good cheer to all on this beautiful day!!!!!
Good luck 🙂