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Post by philip on Feb 10, 2015 15:59:08 GMT -5
A friend of mine gave me two cloves of giant garlic from chile. They are gigantic! I have never seen garlic this big before. It is true garlic and it flowered for my friend last year but it didn't set any seeds.  Sorry i am not very gifted with computers and i don't even know how to insert a big picture. I wonder if garlic cloves swell up after having sprouted but i had seen the cloves last year already and they were massive. I will hopefully manage to multiply it and post more pictures later this year. |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Feb 11, 2015 11:29:35 GMT -5
philip: My best guess is that the bulbs are Elephant garlic, Allium ampeloprasum. To check that ID, one of the characteristics of this species is large purple flowers that don't contain bulbils. Another trait is the production of corms. Chilean Giant Garlic
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Post by philip on Feb 11, 2015 12:07:47 GMT -5
I will watch it closely but from what i have seen and read i think this is true garlic and not elefant garlic. It doesn't make corms. It makes bulbs with several cloves just like normal garlic but they're very big.
It will probably flower again cause it flowered last year for my friend and i will post a picture of the flowers.
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Post by philip on Mar 4, 2015 15:15:06 GMT -5
Joseph, after reading up more on elephant garlic, i have to say you are probably right that that's what it is. I wasn't aware of the fact that elephant garlic makes cloves just like normal garlic but much bigger. I thought it only made a single large onion-like bulb with a garlicky taste. I can't remember having seen corms on it but in a few months i will know for sure. And i thought i had found something special... Oh well...
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Post by philip on Jun 7, 2015 3:44:32 GMT -5
Here's a picture of the flowerhead of the giant garlic. It's not pink or purple but white/green for now. I will check for bulbils in the flower once it's opened up properly. Question: Is there any ways to make alliums, that are known not to make seed, to set seed? I read that elephant garlic flowers don't make true seed.  |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jun 7, 2015 22:23:45 GMT -5
Is there any ways to make alliums, that are known not to make seed, to set seed? If they are being grown as clones, and are self incompatible, then they won't set seed unless two separate varieties are grown together. Clones that are male-sterile won't set seed unless there is a pollen donor flowering close by at the same time. Clones that are female-sterile won't set seed regardless of what is growing nearby. In some cases, environmental conditions might lead to the formation of flowers on clones that don't typically flower. |
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Post by philip on Jun 8, 2015 15:36:43 GMT -5
Ok so that doesn't bode well. I suppose i ll just be hoping for the odd exception, the kind of thing i always do. :-)
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Post by nicolas on Jun 9, 2015 0:41:06 GMT -5
I had well formed seeds from one giant garlic head last year. None germinated but neither of my other alliums sown in the same batch so it is maybe not due to sterility.
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