The garlic flower beautifies gardens and balconies in the summer. But it also unsettles many gardeners. Whether you can still eat flowering garlic, you will learn in this article.
Many plants become inedible as soon as they bloom. For example, wild garlic can only be harvested during the wild garlic season between March and May. This is not the case with garlic. Nevertheless, garlic flowering does have an effect on the cloves.
What they are and whether you should remove the flowers, we explain here.
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Garlic flowering: When does garlic flower?
Basically, a distinction can be made between spring and winter garlic. Spring garlic can be planted from mid-February to mid-April. It is not winter-hardy, but due to the easier care and shorter cultivation period it is recommended for beginners. Winter garlic is planted in autumn and forms larger bulbs. However, it is more laborious in care.
Garlic sprouts in the summer – from about June. Then it forms tubular stems that grow 50 to 100 centimeters long. On the stalks appear scattered garlic flowers, which can be green, white, reddish or pink. However, garlic flowers are infertile and do not serve to propagate the plant.
In addition, small brood bulbs, called bulbils, form during the flowering period. These are edible in theory, but have little in common with garlic in terms of taste. The bulbils are excellent for propagating garlic. You can collect them for this purpose and put them in the ground in autumn or spring.
Is the garlic flower poisonous?
Garlic flowers are neither poisonous nor inedible. They are popularly consumed in many Asian countries, including China.
Even the garlic itself is still edible when the plant is in bloom. But what influence the flowering has on the taste and quality of the garlic cloves is disputed. Some garlic experts are convinced that the garlic cloves have a more delicate flavor as long as the plant has not yet flowered. Others claim that garlic flowers result in a lower yield because the plant then has to expend increased energy to produce flowers.
Cut off garlic flowers?
Ultimately, you must decide for yourself whether you want to cut off the garlic flowers or not. In any case, you should be aware that the plant needs a lot of energy to form flowers and bulbils.
If you are unsure, you can grow some plants with flowers and bulbils and remove the flowers from others. Make a note of each plant so that you can later test how garlic flowering affects the yield and flavor of the cloves.
If you want to remove the garlic flowers, it is best to do so when the first bulges form at the top of the stalk. This is usually the case between May and June. Then make a diagonal cut a few centimeters below the bulge.
