Elephant garlic is more tender than hardneck garlic; the first year I tried it in Wisconsin (without mulch) half of it died, and the remainder was stunted & eventually succumbed to rot. The cold damage had, I believe, taken its toll (softneck garlics suffered the same fate).

This year, I mulched it heavily with 6" of straw; I only lost one of 12. I also trialed another 8 softnecks for cold-hardiness without straw, and most also perished. I think for our zone, mulch is the key for elephants & softnecks.

Hmmm... you might be right about that, will have to see how it goes. I imagine all the rain probably isn't to it's liking either? Hardnecks seem fine with it though.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

My elephant garlic tops are smaller than the rest too. I planted all my garlic last October.

I am toying with the idea of planting elephany garlic. I live in central Vermont (zone 3). Is this even possible or are the winters too cold?

Harvested my elephant garlic a few weeks ago. The plants were much larger and taller than regular garlic. As of now the bulbs are very juicy - I assume they have to cure a bit longer than the standard garlic.
Didn't have any problems wintering the elephant garlic over last winter and never got around to mulching. It was a mild winter and I'm in zone 5 not 4.

Elephant does well here in a milder zone, as do the softnecks. No problems overwintering. Have had hardiness problems with potato onions.

Just a follow-up... harvested my Elephant in mid-July; most bulbs were large, with numerous "daughter" bulbils (which will also be planted). They never did reach the height or spread of most of my hardnecks, so this is apparently their normal growth habit.

Mulch appears to be the key to success in my zone, but then we also had a mild winter. Will try again this winter to verify results.

I got one from the walmart grocery section. It did fine. Lasted two winters in Zone 5a with no mulch - would have gone on longer but I yanked it- turns out I like my garlic all pre-minced and bottled:)
Karen

Checking over the elephant garlic and it appears to be hard and in good shape to plant next month. BUT..... don't think it is as useful as regular garlic. Flavor very mild - not bad in stir fries but for things like pesto and tomato sauces, I would like a bit more bite for the buck.

Oldroser Try making garlic powder out of the elephant garlic. I makes excellent powder and the taste is much stronger. Elephant garlic can keep a whole year even after it has been broken into cloves.

It can take more than one season for elephant Garlic to obtain the size needed to form bulb divisions. I assume you dug in summer and found round Yearlings...and are about to replant them now.

In Oregon we get a good growing season in fall - as well as Spring - but not everyone gets a good fall jump start...so you may find round onion-like Yearlings the first time you dig...with some fresh seed you can replant right away.

Just as amount of sun and water, and type of soil can make a difference, so can the type of seed you use.

Perhaps you planted from TopSet bulbils? That takes much longer, and may be unrewarding in cold country. The shiny root-formed seed is hardy (as in this photo link) and it is is best IMO, since I like to eat or share nearly all heads and cloves.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mikalson2002/detail?.dir=d8a2&.dnm=7b19.jpg&.src=ph

Those with colder winters may want to plant from cloves, or try to encourage some fall growth before frost for an earlier start, and mulch after the first hard frost.

Here is a photo (link below) of some of my harvest from last year. The round yearlings are in the Nursery pot because it will be sored only July- mid-September then it is re-planted as soon as it cools...with a couple hand fuls fo the fresh root-formed seed.

I had MUCH more to harvest this year, even tho I give away as much seed as possible. I enjoy sharing whole heads now, as Host gifts at Dinner Parties.

Milder flavor just means more ways to use E.G. - including egg dishes, dips, and the roasting pan...in bigger chunks - no mincing is necessary.

Here is a link that might be useful: Yearlings are in back, in the Nursery Pot