Wild garlic is known as a delicious forest garlic. Hardly anyone knows that you can also easily plant it in the garden. However, the special site conditions must be observed.
Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) is best known for its many he althy ingredients. The fragrant herb, which was actually named after bears' preference for wild garlic, contains a lot of vitamin C, for example. Wild garlic not only occurs wild in nature, but is also wonderful to plant in the garden. Like any other herb, wild garlic makes certain demands on its environment.
The right place for wild garlic
Partial shade and slightly moist, humus-rich soil characterize the perfect location for wild garlic. Since wild garlic loves shade, the herb can be planted wonderfully under shrubs, with which it is happy to share the available space. However, the plant is an outlier and quickly spreads like weeds in the garden.
If you don't want to see wild garlic populate your entire garden in the future, you should allocate the plant to a bed from which it cannot easily break out. A boundary with boards or stone slabs buried vertically in the ground at the edge of the bed is therefore recommended.
If you want to cultivate wild garlic in a planter or on the balcony, you should ensure soil conditions that are similar to those of a natural location. Since it is a forest plant, humus-rich soil and a semi-shady location are also crucial when planting on a terrace or balcony. While other types of leeks do not tolerate moist soil, this is not a problem for wild garlic. However, it must be a soil with sufficient permeability.
Although the herb likes it warm, direct sunlight should be avoided. Using a layer of mulch, which can be either mature compost or fall leaves, also welcomes weeds. If the soil is naturally rather acidic, it makes sense to lime it at regular intervals.
Seeds or plantsplant?
If you want to plant wild garlic in your own garden, it is better to use ready-made plants. After all, it can take between 14 months and up to two years until the wild garlic seeds finally become a complete plant. For many hobby gardeners, this simply takes far too long, so that a ready-made wild garlic plant is a less time-consuming alternative to planting the herb in your own garden.
Nevertheless, it is possible to sow wild garlic in your own garden if you wish and then be surprised by the plant over a year later. Wild garlic plants are available in any well-stocked garden center as bulb flowers that are almost fully developed.
Plant wild garlic plants directly
Anyone who has now decided on a wild garlic plant instead of the time-consuming cultivation with seeds should definitely heed the following planting tips:
- Consider planting depth of about ten centimeters
- Keep a planting distance of around 15 to 30 centimeters
- Fresh wild garlic bulbs can also be planted in the ground in autumn (then please choose a planting depth of seven centimetres)
After planting, the early bloomer should be watered well. During the growing phase, soil that is consistently moist is extremely important for the herb to thrive as desired. It is important to water the wild garlic sufficiently for several weeks, otherwise the plant cannot grow in its new location.
Once the wild garlic has grown in the garden or in the planter, it no longer needs quite as much moisture as it did at the beginning. Incidentally, wild garlic usually only really gets going after three to four years and multiplies steadily over the years. Three plants are enough to create a bed of wild garlic. Provided that the ideal site conditions are met, wild garlic will eventually grow considerably. A rich harvest is possible even with few plants.
When can wild garlic be planted?
In principle, wild garlic can be planted all year round. The only exception is times of ground frost. If the ground is frozen, the very robust and hardy plant should not be planted in the ground.
Caring for wild garlic
Caring for the plants is just as easy as planting wild garlic. Because the herb is not particularly care-intensive. The weed doesn't need a lot of water, so irrigation is easyof the garden plant should primarily focus on the growth phase and possible dry periods. In autumn, leaves can be used to mulch the beds, with a thin layer being sufficient. This increases the humus content of the soil, providing the site conditions that wild garlic expressly prefers.
Planting wild garlic in the garden - important information
Anyone who plants wild garlic in their garden should know that although it is a very aromatic plant, it is also a somewhat decorative herb. Wild garlic can only be seen above the ground for a few months, usually from May to June, so that there is a clear gap for the rest of the year under the shrubs, trees and bushes where the wild garlic was once planted. Most hobby gardeners want to avoid such bare spots. It therefore makes sense to combine wild garlic with other plants that fill the gap after the herb has flowered. These plants are ideal:
- Shadow perennials
- Ferns
- Hostels
- Astilbe