Hardnecks
Hardneck varieties require a period of vernalization (winter cold exposure) at temperatures of 40 to 45°F for a period of six to 12 weeks.
This occurs naturally for fall-planted bulbs in areas with cold winters.
But in regions with mild winters, you can create a false winter chill in the refrigerator, which provides the temperatures and humidity needed for germination and growth.
Place them in a loosely closed paper bag in the fridge for a period of six to 12 weeks before planting.
Glazed Purple Stripe
The Glazed Purple Stripes are a small family known for the lovely coloring of their luminous wrappers, a shimmering pearly purple with the occasional touch of gold. Clove wrappers range from copper and gold to deep purple.
The stocky cloves are excellent for roasting with rich, woodsy flavors and a mild to moderate heat, which also make them a good choice for raw eating.
Plants do best in areas with cold winters, and are strong bolters. Remove the scapes to maximize size.
Bulbs hold six to 12 generous cloves and have a storage life of five to eight months. Popular varieties include ‘Oregon,’ ‘Purple Glazer,’ ‘Red Rezan.’
Seedstock bulbs of ‘Purple Glazer’ are available at Burpee.
Marbled Purple Stripe
Marbled Purple Stripes have large, somewhat squat bulbs with beautiful white wrappers generously adorned with purple blotches, splashes, and stripes, and cloves of deep purple to white.
This is another superb choice for roasting or sauteing with sweetly smooth, spicy flavors when cooked, and a fiery heat when raw.
Plants are noted for their consistent size and overall performance, producing six to eight extra-plump cloves per head, with a shelf life of six to seven months. Remove scapes for maximum size.
‘Bogatyr,’ ‘Metechi,’ and ‘Siberian’ are popular Marbled Purple Stripe varieties.
Bulbs of ‘Metechi’ are available at Burpee.
Porcelain
Porcelains are beautiful bulbs with uniform, milky white wrappers with the odd splash of purple, and cloves of light purple, tan, or white.
With an earthy, light spiciness and mild to moderate heat, the complex flavors hold up well in cooking.
The robust bulbs consistently produce four to eight large cloves, and scapes should be removed to maximize size. Storage life is up to eight months.
‘Georgian Crystal,’ ‘Music,’ and ‘Romanian Red’ are well-known Porcelain varieties.
‘Music’ seedstock bulbs are available at Burpee.
Purple Stripe
Thought to be the ancient common relative of all the garlic families, Purple Stripes feature thick, easy-to-peel wrappers of creamy white with purple stripes or splotches, and beautiful magenta to gold cloves.
With a medium heat, the flavor is strong, complex, and notably garlicky, and builds with age.
A star for cooking, Purple Stripe is a premier garlic for baking, with flavors so sweet it’s also the variety most often used to flavor ice cream!
Bulbs produce eight to 16 crescent-shaped cloves, and have a storage life of six to seven months.
‘Chesnok Red,’ ‘Persian Star,’ and ‘Tibetan’ are a few popular cultivars.
Bulbs of ‘Chesnok Red’ are available at Burpee.
Rocambole
Rocamboles are large and handsome, with milky white to pinkish or purple wrappers, and attractive toffee to magenta-colored cloves.
Beloved for their exceptional taste – deep, buttery-sweet, and earthy – Rocamboles are often the first choice for chefs and garlic aficionados.
However, they can be a bit demanding to grow, and must have cold winters and well-draining soil.
The generous bulbs contain eight to 12 cloves, and scapes should be removed to maximize size.
‘German Red,’ ‘Amish,’ and ‘Ukrainian’ are well-known cultivars.
‘German Red’ bulbs are available from Burpee.
Weakly Bolting Hardnecks
Even though they look like softnecks with wide, floppy leaves, weakly bolting hardnecks can produce soft-stemmed scapes, although not always, and are genetically classified as hardnecks.
Unlike true hardnecks, the pliable foliage is easy to braid for storage. And should scapes form, removal isn’t necessary to improve size.
Asiatic
The Asiatics have wide, floppy leaves and produce well-formed bulbs with thick, white wrappers handsomely colored with purple or toffee.
Cloves are also attractive with sturdy wrappers of dark purple or tan.
Flavors have a spicy, sweet earthiness, and a heat intensity of medium to fiery hot that mellows with cooking.
