Bulbs Forming on Top of Garlic

Q. My garlic planted last year has a small bulb forming
at the top of a few of the plants. From what I read about this type of plant
the garlic is formed from the bulb at the top. Do they reproduce underground
for future plantings?

A. We do find some garlic producing these small bulbs at
the tops of the plants. They are sometimes referred to as bulblets or bulbils
depending on who you talk to. These plants will also produce bulbs which can be
used for planting the following year.

            In the
same family of vegetables there are onions which do the same thing. These are called
“walking onions”. The flower at the top of the flower stalk, or scape, does not
produce seed but produces miniature bulbs instead.

            These
bulbils are capable of reproducing the mother plant. They are called “walking
onions” because the weight of the bulbils bends the scape over to the ground.
If the soil is wet, these bulbils grow into new plants just inches from the
mother plant. This new growth gives the perception that these onions are
“walking” or moving from one location to another.

            These
types of plants can be self-seeding by dropping the bulbils into the garden and
starting new plants perpetually.

            Most
garlic that produces bulbils are hardnecked types of garlic or sometimes
referred to as “topsetting” garlic. They are called hardnecked because the
flower stalk is very rigid compared to the “softneck” varieties which can
actually be braided.

            So to
answer your question, yes you can plant these bulbils and they will produce new
plants. It is good to remember that the size of the clove or bulbil you plant
will impact the size of the bulb you produce. The larger the clove or bulbil,
the larger the bulb.