MOONGLOW SEEDS

MOONGLOW SEEDSMOONGLOW SEEDSMOONGLOW SEEDS
Home
Shop Seeds
About
  • About Us & FAQ
  • Gift Cards
  • 2025 Digital Seed Catalog
  • Northern Seed Library
  • Shipping Information
Resources
  • Nature-Friendly Growing
  • Gardening for Pollinators
  • Pollinator Plants
  • Seed Sowing and Saving
  • Tomato Grow Guide
  • Downloadable Resources
  • Blog

MOONGLOW SEEDS

MOONGLOW SEEDSMOONGLOW SEEDSMOONGLOW SEEDS
Home
Shop Seeds
About
  • About Us & FAQ
  • Gift Cards
  • 2025 Digital Seed Catalog
  • Northern Seed Library
  • Shipping Information
Resources
  • Nature-Friendly Growing
  • Gardening for Pollinators
  • Pollinator Plants
  • Seed Sowing and Saving
  • Tomato Grow Guide
  • Downloadable Resources
  • Blog
More
  • Home
  • Shop Seeds
  • About
    • About Us & FAQ
    • Gift Cards
    • 2025 Digital Seed Catalog
    • Northern Seed Library
    • Shipping Information
  • Resources
    • Nature-Friendly Growing
    • Gardening for Pollinators
    • Pollinator Plants
    • Seed Sowing and Saving
    • Tomato Grow Guide
    • Downloadable Resources
    • Blog
  • Sign In
  • Create Account

  • Orders
  • My Account
  • Signed in as:

  • filler@godaddy.com


  • Orders
  • My Account
  • Sign out

Signed in as:

filler@godaddy.com

  • Home
  • Shop Seeds
  • About
    • About Us & FAQ
    • Gift Cards
    • 2025 Digital Seed Catalog
    • Northern Seed Library
    • Shipping Information
  • Resources
    • Nature-Friendly Growing
    • Gardening for Pollinators
    • Pollinator Plants
    • Seed Sowing and Saving
    • Tomato Grow Guide
    • Downloadable Resources
    • Blog

Account


  • Orders
  • My Account
  • Sign out


  • Sign In
  • Orders
  • My Account

growing garlic from bulbils

Bulbils cluster growing atop a scape stem

What is a garlic bulbil?

When growing hardneck garlic, the garlic plant will send up a scape (flower) in late spring. The scape is cut or snapped off once the long stem begins to curl so the plant can put energy into producing bigger garlic bulbs in the ground, and not the scape. If this scape is not removed, and left to mature on the garlic plant all season, it will eventually produce a small cluster of garlic bulbils atop a tall thick stem. 


A bulbil is not a true seed, but a clone of the parent plant, therefor no pollination is involved in the process. You can be sure that the bulbils will be true-to-type of the parent plant. Many varieties of garlic can be grown together with no risk of cross-pollination. 


Garlic bulbils come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Some are as big as marbles or peas, while others are as small as a grain of rice. They come in reds, purples, and whites. One bulbils cluster can contain anywhere from a few bulbs to hundreds.


Growing with this method can be an inexpensive and quick way to increase your garlic stock or garlic collection. Because bulbils are smaller than full-size cloves, they are often less costly to ship, and may be the only way to find and grow a rare variety/variety not readily available in your area.

shop our garlic bulbils here

How to grow bulbils

Bulbils take two to four years to grow into full-size garlic bulbs, therefor a little more patience, prep, and space is required when propagating with this method. Other than that, bulbils are very easy to grow and don't need much maintenance at all.


In the fall, a month before the ground freezes, plant garlic bulbils. This will allow the bulbils to grow a few roots and go through a process called vernalization. Bulbils are not planted as deep as full-size cloves, so they will need a nice thick layer of mulch to protect from winter damage. In the spring, small garlic leaves will emerge and grow all spring & into summer. Around the same time that your full--sized bulbs mature, bulbils can also be dug up, cleaned, and inspected. The bulbils should have now grown into larger cloves or a larger bulbil.


Replant the second-year bulbils in the fall a month before the ground freezes. We do this at the same time as our full-size cloves to save time. Again, mulch well for winter and in the spring the mulch can be removed. That summer, the cloves are dug up and should now be full size bulbs!

Tips

Plant first year bulbils in a wide pot, about 1 inch to 1.5 inches apart, depending on the size of the bulbils. Dig a hole in the ground and set the pot inside, making sure the soil level inside the pot is level with the ground. Mulch well for the winter. In the spring, the mulch is removed and bulbils can be easily located and maintained. In the second year, the bulbils are planted into the ground to allow for maximum growth.


First year bulbil leaves can be very tiny, like a blade of grass. Keep weeds at bay early on to ensure garlic has enough space and light to grow.


In 2017, the Seed Savers Exchange conducted an experiment which showed that garlic bulbs that had scapes removed were on average 23% larger than those with scapes left on.

bulbils come in all shapes & sizes

Khabar

Beletic Croatian

Yugoslavian

Yugoslavian

Beletic Croatian

Yugoslavian

Beletic Croatian

Beletic Croatian

Beletic Croatian

Mennonite

Mennonite

Beletic Croatian

Killarney

Mennonite

Killarney

Music

Mennonite

Killarney

Red Russian

Georgian Crystal

Red Russian

Duganski

Georgian Crystal

Red Russian

Georgian Crystal

Georgian Crystal

Georgian Crystal

Purple Glazer

Baba Franchuk's

Georgian Crystal

Gaia's Joy

Baba Franchuk's

Baba Franchuk's

Baba Franchuk's

Baba Franchuk's

Baba Franchuk's

  • Shop Seeds
  • Northern Seed Library
  • Nature-Friendly Growing
  • Gardening for Pollinators
  • Seed Sowing and Saving
  • Subscribe

ALBERTA, CANADA

Copyright © 2018-2025  Moonglow Gardens | Moonglow Seed Co - All Rights Reserved  | Rights to all photos & information on this site belong to Moonglow Seed Co.

This website uses cookies.

We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

DeclineAccept