Bulbs Forming on Top of Garlic

Q. My garlic planted last year has a small bulb forming at the top of a few of the plants. From what I read about this type of plant the garlic is formed from the bulb at the top. Do they reproduce underground for future plantings?

Bulbils forming on top of hardneck garlic at UNCE orchard

A. We do find some garlic producing these small bulbs at the tops of the plants. They are sometimes referred to as bulblets or bulbils depending on who you talk to. These plants will also produce bulbs which can be used for planting the following year.

            In the same family of vegetables there are onions which do the same thing. These are called “walking onions”. The flower at the top of the flower stalk, or scape, does not produce seed but produces miniature bulbs instead.

            These bulbils are capable of reproducing the mother plant. They are called “walking onions” because the weight of the bulbils bends the scape over to the ground. If the soil is wet, these bulbils grow into new plants just inches from the mother plant. This new growth gives the perception that these onions are “walking” or moving from one location to another.

            These types of plants can be self-seeding by dropping the bulbils into the garden and starting new plants perpetually.

            Most garlic that produces bulbils are hardnecked types of garlic or sometimes referred to as “topsetting” garlic. They are called hardnecked because the flower stalk is very rigid compared to the “softneck” varieties which can actually be braided.

            So to answer your question, yes you can plant these bulbils and they will produce new plants. It is good to remember that the size of the clove or bulbil you plant will impact the size of the bulb you produce. The larger the clove or bulbil, the larger the bulb.