Wild garlic

Wild garlic: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Bulbous plant, 20–40 cm tall, that grows in colonies and dies back above ground in June.

Leaf

Usually two per bulb, broadly lance-shaped, 15–25 cm long, glossy green and each on its own stalk; strong garlic smell when crushed.

Flower

White, star-shaped flowers with six petals, in a loose, flat umbel on a three-angled stem, in April–May.

Bulb

Small, narrow and elongated; it rests in the ground from summer to spring.

Seed

Black seeds that drop close to the plant in June, which is how dense carpets form.

Flowering: April–May · Harvest and fruit: March–June · Sowing: September–October · Plants: March and September–October

Why grow it?

• One of the first fresh harvests of the year: leaves to pick in March–April.
• Covers the moist, shady ground under trees and shrubs within a few years.
• White flower heads in April–May for bees and other early insects.
• A native plant that suits a natural woodland garden.
• Little work: once established it spreads by itself.

Wild garlic: where does it grow best?

• Partial or full shade, ideally under deciduous trees or shrubs: light in spring, shade in summer.
• Humus-rich loam or clay, neutral to chalky.
• Moist to wet in spring; it copes poorly with drying out.
• No full sun and no dry, sandy soil.
• Plant in small groups, 10–15 cm between bulbs.

Light

Partial shade and shade

Soil type

Loam or clay

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Normal or wet

Size

0.3 m tall, 0.2 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Wood anemone: Another native spring flower of moist woodland, with white flowers.
• Ferns: They fill the space when the wild garlic disappears in June.
• Hosta: Large leaves that take over the empty spot in summer.
• Sweet woodruff: A native, white-flowered ground cover for the same shade.

Wild garlic: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March and September–October.

1. Plant bulbs in September–October, or pot-grown plants in March, when the leaves are just emerging.
2. Buy fresh, firm bulbs and plant them straight away: dried-out bulbs establish poorly.
3. Work some leaf mould or compost into the soil first.
4. Set the bulbs 5–10 cm deep, tip upwards, 10–15 cm apart and in small groups.
5. Water and cover the spot with a layer of leaf mould or fallen leaves.

Care

Water

Water in a dry spring; in summer it is dormant and needs little.

Feeding

Not needed; simply leave fallen leaves in place in autumn.

Harvesting

From March until flowering, pick one leaf per plant and cut it just above the ground: that keeps the bulb strong.

Dying back

Let the leaves yellow and disappear naturally after flowering: that is how the bulb stores food for next year.

Spreading

To keep it in check, cut off the flowers before they set seed.

Tip: Plant wild garlic preferably as pot-grown plants in March, when the leaves are already up: they often establish better than dry bulbs planted in autumn.

Wild garlic: when to prune it?

When: Wild garlic is not pruned. There are, however, a few small jobs.

How:

• Let the leaves die back after flowering; do not cut them while they are green.
• Remove faded flower heads if you want it to self-seed less.
• In autumn, leave fallen leaves in place as a natural mulch.

Caution: Do not mow or cut the leaves early: the bulb needs them to store food.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

In September–October, sow fresh seed outdoors, 1 cm deep, in shade. The seed needs cold and only germinates after one or two winters.

Division

After flowering or in autumn, lift a clump, separate the bulbs and replant them straight away.

Self-seeding

Let the flowers set seed; after a few years the seedlings form a carpet.

Wild garlic: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Fully hardy, to about −25 °C: the bulbs overwinter in the ground.
• From July to February nothing shows above ground; mark the spot so you do not dig into it.
• The young leaves appear as early as February–March and tolerate night frost.

Diseases and pests

• Fails to appear: Nothing comes up after planting. Often the bulbs had dried out or the spot was too dry and sunny. Plant pot-grown plants in March in a moist, shady place.
• Yellowing leaves: Yellow leaves in May–June are normal: the plant is going dormant. Leave them.
• Spreading: In a moist garden it self-seeds freely. Cut off the flowers before they set seed and dig out unwanted clumps.
• Slugs: They sometimes eat the young leaves in a wet spring. Pick them off in the evening.

Through the year

• February: The first leaves appear.
• March: Pick leaves, one per plant. Plant pot-grown plants.
• April: Pick leaves until flowering. Flowering begins. Harvest the buds.
• May: Flowering. Pick flowers for salads. Remove faded heads if you do not want seedlings.
• June: The seed ripens. The leaves yellow and die back.
• July: Dormant. Mark the spot.
• September: Plant bulbs or sow seed.
• October: Planting and sowing. Leave fallen leaves in place.

Edible and useful

Leaves (March–April)

Pick the young leaves from mid-March to the end of April, before flowering, when they are tender and mild. Take one or two leaves per plant so the bulb is not exhausted, and pick leaf by leaf so that no other leaf slips in. Use them raw or barely warmed: in pesto, butter, soup, scrambled eggs or over pasta; long cooking destroys the flavour.

Flowers (April–May)

The white star-shaped flowers and the still-closed buds in April and May are pretty and pungent: scatter them over salad, soup or a slice of bread.

Seeds (May–June)

In May and June small green seed pods form. While they are still green and soft, you can pickle or ferment them as wild garlic ‘capers’.

Storing

Fresh wild garlic keeps for 3 to 4 days in the fridge in a box with a damp piece of kitchen paper. Drying is not worth it: the flavour disappears. To keep it, make pesto, butter or herb salt, or freeze the chopped leaves with a little olive oil in an ice-cube tray.

Fermenting

The green seed pods can be fermented in a 3 % salt brine: after a week at room temperature they are sour and punchy, and then keep in the fridge. Chopped leaves can also be lacto-fermented with 2 % salt, like sauerkraut.

Caution: Wild garlic resembles poisonous plants that grow in the same places: lily of the valley (two or three leaves from one stem, with no smell of garlic), autumn crocus (thick, glossy leaves in a rosette, without a stalk) and young lords-and-ladies (arrow-shaped leaves). Wild garlic has one leaf per stalk and smells clearly of garlic when you crush it; do not sniff your fingers, as they keep smelling of garlic. Pick leaf by leaf. Like all alliums, it is poisonous to dogs and cats. In the wild, do not pick in nature reserves and never take the bulbs: better to grow it in your own garden.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Wild garlic pesto (Other · ± 2 small jars · 15 min)
• Wild garlic butter (Other · ± 250 g · 10 min)
• Wild garlic capers (Fermentation · ± 1 small jar · 15 min + 1 week fermenting)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• The name ursinum means ‘of the bear’; according to tradition, bears ate it after their winter sleep.
• Where wild garlic grows in large carpets, a whole wood smells of garlic in spring.
• After setting seed the plant disappears completely and the bulb rests underground until the following spring.