Society Garlic Plant Care

Light

• The plant grows from small bulbs and will form thick clumps that grow to a height of 12 inches or less. There are varieties with white-striped variegation in the leaves. These variegated cultivars can handle a little more shade, but all society garlic plants, or tulbaghia, will do better with plenty of sunshine.

Water

• Give the tulbaghia good drainage. It's a good plant to use in a drought tolerant garden, but it will also grow well with regular water, just don't overwater. If the soil is slow draining and the feet of the plant stay wet for long periods of time, they will rot.

Winter Care

• Care for the society garlic by removing brown foliage that dies back when the bulbs go dormant in climates where the temperatures fall below freezing. It is hardy to the mid-20’s, though it usually survives an occasional dip as low as the upper teens. In warmer winter areas tulbaghia is likely to stay evergreen year round. When happy, this plant will grow into dense clumps and send out creeping shoots that can occasionally become somewhat invasive as they pop up in nearby parts of the garden.

Division

• Dig these plants and divide clumps when they get too large or crowded. The best time to do this is in the autumn and early winter. Division is also the easiest method of propagation. The small bulbs grow tightly together so they are best pulled apart with your fingers. The society garlic is a tough plant and will usually tolerate quite a lot of handling and transplants easily. You can also grow tulbaghia from seed.

Pot Cultivation

• If you're going to grow the plant in containers, make sure you give it a fertile and porous soil. Care for them with regular watering and bright light when they are indoors. If you don’t like the garlic smell of the leaves, place the pots where the plants will remain untouched. Then move them outdoors where they can show off their cheerful flowers after hard frosts are over. They make a decorative addition to a container garden on a patio or balcony, too.

Uses

• Use the tulbaghia as an edging, for a vertical effect with its grass-like growth habit, to color up flower beds with the long-blooming blossoms or to cheer up container plantings for indoors or out. It is also an ideal plant to dress up an herb garden.