All varieties
Silverskin garlic
The longest keeper, and the best for braids.
Good for long storage, raw heat, braiding and most plants per pound of seed.
By winter
- Frozen hard for weeks. Grows in hard winters under mulch.
- Frost, then thaw, repeatedly. Thrives where frost comes and goes.
- Rare or brief frost. Thrives where frost is rare.
At a glance
- Neck
- Softneck
- Keeps
- 10 to 12 months
- Cloves per bulb
- 12 to 20, many of them small
- Flavor
- Strong in some varieties, such as Nootka Rose.
- Peeling
- Slower. The cloves are numerous and small.
- Braiding
- Yes, the best of any group
- Harvest
- Latest of all
- Seed per pound
- About 70 plants per pound of seed, second only to Creole.
Varieties to order
Nootka Rose
Softneck · Keeps 8 to 12 months · Late harvest
Order from Filaree Keene Hood River
What each supplier says
- Group
- Silverskin (Filaree)
Silverskin (Hood River) - Neck
- soft (Filaree)
soft (Keene)
soft (Hood River) - Cloves per bulb
- 10 to 20 (Filaree)
12 to 15 (Hood River) - Per pound
- 8 to 10 bulbs/lb (Filaree)
60 to 75 cloves/lb (Hood River) - Keeps
- 10 to 12 months (Filaree)
9 to 12 months (Keene)
8 to 10 months (Hood River) - Flavor
- Strong (Filaree)
Pearl white bulbs with strong flavor (Keene)
Hot (Hood River) - Climate
- Mild-Cold winters / Versatile (Filaree)
Adapts to summer heat, northern and southern states (Keene)
Maritime cool wet through arid hot dry winters (Hood River) - Harvest
- Late (Filaree)
Silver White
Softneck · Keeps 8 to 12 months · Mid to late harvest
Order from Filaree Keene Hood River
What each supplier says
- Group
- Silverskin (Filaree)
Silverskin (Keene)
Silverskin (Hood River) - Neck
- soft (Filaree)
soft (Keene)
soft (Hood River) - Cloves per bulb
- 12 to 20 (Filaree)
12 to 15 (Hood River) - Per pound
- 8 to 10 bulbs/lb (Filaree)
60 to 75 cloves/lb (Hood River) - Keeps
- 10 to 12 months (Filaree)
over 9 to 12 months (Keene)
8 to 10 months (Hood River) - Flavor
- Mild to Medium, Classic Garlic (Filaree)
Milder softneck flavor (Keene)
Hot, spicy (Hood River) - Climate
- Cold-Hot, Versatile (Filaree)
Adapts to summer heat, northern and southern states (Keene)
Zones 4 to 10 (Hood River) - Harvest
- Late (Filaree)
Mid to late (Hood River) - Scapes
- No (Hood River)
California Select
Softneck · Keeps 10 to 12 months · Late harvest
Order from Filaree
What each supplier says
- Group
- Silverskin (Filaree)
- Neck
- soft (Filaree)
- Cloves per bulb
- 12 to 20 (Filaree)
- Per pound
- 8 to 10 bulbs/lb (Filaree)
- Keeps
- 10 to 12 months (Filaree)
- Flavor
- Classic Garlic, Medium (Filaree)
- Climate
- Cold-Hot, Versatile (Filaree)
- Harvest
- Late (Filaree)
Idaho Silver
Softneck · Keeps 10 to 12 months · Late harvest
Order from Filaree
What each supplier says
- Group
- Silverskin (Filaree)
- Neck
- soft (Filaree)
- Cloves per bulb
- 12 to 20 (Filaree)
- Per pound
- 8 to 10 bulbs/lb (Filaree)
- Keeps
- 10 to 12 months (Filaree)
- Flavor
- Slow-building heat, very hot raw (Filaree)
- Climate
- Cold-Hot, Versatile (Filaree)
- Harvest
- Late (Filaree)
Mild French
Softneck · Keeps 10 to 12 months · Early to mid harvest
Order from Filaree
What each supplier says
- Group
- Silverskin (Filaree)
- Neck
- soft (Filaree)
- Cloves per bulb
- 13 to 16 (Filaree)
- Per pound
- 8 to 10 bulbs/lb (Filaree)
- Keeps
- 10 to 12 months (Filaree)
- Flavor
- Mild, Smooth, Sweet (Filaree)
- Climate
- Cold-Hot, Versatile (Filaree)
- Harvest
- Early to Mid (Filaree)
S & H Silver
Softneck · Keeps 10 to 12 months · Late harvest
Order from Filaree
What each supplier says
- Group
- Silverskin (Filaree)
- Neck
- soft (Filaree)
- Cloves per bulb
- 15 to 20 (Filaree)
- Per pound
- 8 to 10 bulbs/lb (Filaree)
- Keeps
- 10 to 12 months (Filaree)
- Flavor
- Mild and Sweet, builds to lingering heat (Filaree)
- Climate
- Cold-Hot, Versatile (Filaree)
- Harvest
- Late (Filaree)
Sicilian Silver
Softneck · Keeps 10 to 12 months · Late harvest
Order from Filaree
What each supplier says
- Group
- Silverskin (Filaree)
- Neck
- soft (Filaree)
- Cloves per bulb
- 12 to 20 (Filaree)
- Per pound
- 8 to 10 bulbs/lb (Filaree)
- Keeps
- 10 to 12 months (Filaree)
- Flavor
- Hot raw, smooth cooked (Filaree)
- Climate
- Cold-Hot, Versatile (Filaree)
- Harvest
- Late (Filaree)
What the catalogs say
The longest keeper. Boundary calls Silverskins the longest storing of all garlics and Filaree gives ten to twelve months. Smooth, shiny, symmetrical bulbs on a pliable stem, which is why this is the braiding garlic. Highest yielding by plants per pound of seed. Scapes appear only under stress from cold or drought. Varieties include Nootka Rose, Silverwhite, Silver Rose.
Climate range is contradicted. Filaree says Silverskins do well in hot southern, wet maritime and cold northern climates alike. Hood River places all softnecks in zones 7 to 10. In a cold zone, mulch heavily and treat the first year as a trial.