What Does a Garlic Plant Look Like? A Visual Guide to Its Growth Stages

Garlic is a popular bulbous crop that adds delicious flavor to many savory dishes But what does a garlic plant actually look like as it progresses from planting to harvest? Here is an overview of the key visual growth stages of a typical garlic plant

Planting Stage

Garlic is grown from individual cloves broken off from a whole bulb. Each clove has a pointed top and flattened base. The cloves are planted root-end down, 2-4 inches deep and 4-8 inches apart in prepared garden beds. Spacing varies on the garlic variety. The soil is patted firmly over the planted cloves. At this early stage, the planting site simply looks like a garden bed with garlic cloves spaced out in rows or blocks.

Sprouting Stage

Within 1-2 weeks after planting, garlic cloves will begin sending up a green sprout. Initially the sprout is a single grass-like blade. It emerges from the tip of the buried clove and grows upward toward the soil surface. Once the sprout penetrates through the soil surface, new blade-like leaves will continue developing from its base in a clumping fashion. The sprouts signal the cloves are rooting and becoming established plants.

Leaf Growth Stage

As the weather warms in spring, the young garlic plants put on vegetative growth. The grassy leaves multiply and lengthen into slender green foliage about 1/2 inch wide. The leaves fan out somewhat but generally remain upright. By early summer the foliage reaches a height of 12-24 inches depending on the variety. The leaves may take on a bluish hue. The plants gradually form a loose clump of leaves arising from the developing underground bulb.

Bulbing Stage

While the leaves are growing above ground, the garlic plant is also enlarging its bulb below ground. The bulb begins forming as a cluster of clove segments that grow larger week by week. For hardneck garlic varieties, a bare flower stalk called a scape emerges from the center in early summer. The curling scapes can be cut off to redirect energy to bulb growth. Bulbs typically reach mature size by mid-summer when lower foliage starts yellowing and drying.

Harvest Stage

Garlic is ready for harvesting when about half of the leaves have turned brown by mid-summer. Plants are dug up using a garden fork, keeping the bulbs intact. Mature garlic bulbs feature multiple layers of papery skin surrounding a segmented head of cloves. Hardneck varieties have a stiff central stem while softneck garlic has supple stems that allow braiding. After digging, bulbs are cured by allowing them to dry out of soil for 2-3 weeks in a warm, airy location out of direct sunlight.

Plant Structure Close-Ups

• Cloves are oblong, off-white segments encased in a thin, light brown skin. They have a firm, smooth texture.

• Leaves are slender, grassy, and green with an upright orientation. Some varieties develop a blueish tint.

• Hardneck scapes are thin, solid, curly flower stalks extending from the bulb center.

• Bulbs are rounded heads composed of multiple cloves surrounded by papery white, tan, or purple-striped outer skins.

Typical Garlic Growth Timeline

Fall: Plant cloves

Spring: Foliage sprouts and grows

Early Summer: Bulbs enlarge and scapes appear

Mid-Summer: Leaves begin drying down

Late Summer: Tops fall over, bulbs are dug up

Fall: Bulbs cured for storage