How to prune garlic

Remove scapes when they form a complete curl, typically early summer. Cut or snap off hardneck scapes at their base once they have curled around once. Scapes are edible. Do not cut the green leaves — these are photosynthesising and essential for bulb fill. Remove any discoloured or diseased foliage cleanly.

Once per season (scape removal); remove damaged leaves as needed. Garlic does not need pruning in the conventional sense. The key task is removing the flower stalk (scape) on hardneck varieties as it curls — cutting it redirects energy from seed production into bulb development, measurably increasing bulb size. Softneck varieties rarely produce scapes. Remove yellowed or diseased leaves as needed.

Cut or snap off hardneck scapes at their base once they have curled around once. Scapes are edible. Do not cut the green leaves — these are photosynthesising and essential for bulb fill. Remove any discoloured or diseased foliage cleanly.