Hardneck garlic 'Music'

Sun

Full sun, ideally at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.

Water

Keep evenly moist during active growth, without waterlogging; reduce watering as the bulbs mature.

Soil

Fertile, loose, well-drained loam, ideally pH 6.0-7.5. Use raised beds where winter drainage is poor.

Height

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m), including scapes

Spread

0.3-0.5 ft (0.1-0.15 m) per plant

Flowers

Summer: scapes carry a papery-covered head containing bulbils and sometimes small whitish to pinkish flowers; usually removed before opening.

Foliage

Upright, flat, strap-shaped blue-green leaves that yellow and die back as the bulbs mature.

Growth

Moderate; usually takes 8-9 months from autumn planting to harvest.

Care needed

Medium

• Deer resistant
• Cold hardy
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.5 ft (0.15 m)

2. After 1 year

   2.5 ft (0.75 m)

   full size

About 1 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Moderate

• Plant healthy seed-garlic cloves in autumn, pointed end up, with their tips about 2 in (5 cm) below the surface; space 6 in (15 cm) apart.
• Apply straw mulch after planting in cold regions; loosen or thin it in spring if the soil stays wet.
• Water during dry spells while leaves are growing, keeping the root zone moist but not saturated.
• Work compost into the bed before planting and give a nitrogen-rich feed in early spring; stop nitrogen feeding once bulbs begin swelling.
• Keep weeds down by hand or shallow hoeing, taking care not to damage the shallow roots.

Pruning. Cut off the scapes once they form a clear curl, before they straighten, to favour bulb growth. Leave healthy leaves intact until harvest.

Cut tender scapes in late spring or early summer while they are curled. Lift bulbs in summer when the lower third to half of the leaves have browned but several upper leaves remain green; check a sample bulb for well-defined cloves and intact wrappers. Lift gently rather than pulling, then cure in an airy, shaded, dry place for 2-4 weeks before trimming and storing.

Early autumn

Prepare a sunny, well-drained bed with compost and obtain disease-free planting stock.

Mid to late autumn

Separate bulbs into cloves just before planting; plant before the soil freezes.

Winter

Check that mulch remains in place and rainwater drains freely.

Early spring

Check emergence, remove weeds and apply a nitrogen-rich feed.

Late spring

Water during dry weather and harvest curled scapes as they appear.

Summer

Reduce watering as leaves yellow, lift mature bulbs and cure them under cover.

• Plant in orderly rows in a kitchen garden for upright structure before the summer harvest.
• Use repeated blocks in a potager alongside lettuce and beetroot for contrasting leaf shapes.
• Grow in raised beds where improved drainage makes winter survival more reliable.
• Place within an edible border where neighbouring crops can fill the gap after lifting.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Edible landscape, Homestead, Cottage garden, Farmhouse and Herb parterre.

Plant it with: Lettuce, Carrots, Beetroot, Swiss chard and Strawberries.

Wildlife: Open flowers may attract insects, but garlic heads often contain mostly bulbils and scapes are normally harvested. It is not a major wildlife food plant.

• White rot: yellowing plants and white fungal growth around bulb bases require removal of affected plants and soil hygiene. Do not move contaminated soil or replant alliums there; the fungus can persist for decades.
• Allium leaf miner: mining and maggots weaken leaves and bulbs. Use insect mesh during local fly activity and remove infested crop remains.
• Thrips: silvery streaks and distorted leaves are worse in hot, dry weather. Keep plants adequately watered, remove weeds and use a locally approved treatment if damage is severe.
• Small bulbs or rotting cloves: shade, crowding, insufficient winter chilling or waterlogged soil can cause failure. Use a sunny, well-spaced planting in freely draining soil; choose a locally adapted garlic in warm climates.

All parts are toxic to cats, dogs and horses, including raw, cooked and dried garlic; ingestion can damage red blood cells and cause serious anaemia. Contact a veterinarian after ingestion. Garlic is edible for people in normal culinary amounts, though it can cause digestive upset or allergy.

• Softneck garlic (Allium sativum, softneck groups)

  Usually lacks a stiff central flowering stalk and has more cloves arranged in several layers; 'Music' has a firm central stem and typically a single ring of large cloves.

• Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum)

  Has broader, leek-like leaves and much larger, milder cloves; it is related to leeks rather than true garlic.

'Music' is named for Canadian garlic grower Al Music, who introduced this selection.

Propagation. Plant individual cloves from healthy bulbs in autumn; each clove produces a new bulb. Save the largest sound bulbs for replanting. Bulbils can also be planted, but usually need two or more growing seasons to produce useful divided bulbs.

Accepted botanical name

Allium sativum

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Iran, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Measured

Soil pH 7.5 to 8. Average height 48 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.