Plant elephant garlic cloves so the top of the clove ends up about 2 inches (5 cm) below the soil surface, which usually means a total planting hole of around 3–4 inches (7–10 cm) deep depending on clove size.

Basic depth rule

  • A common rule of thumb is to bury the clove by roughly its own height: if the clove is about 2 inches tall, cover it with about 2 inches of soil.
  • In practical terms, that usually works out to planting elephant garlic 3–4 inches deep from soil surface to clove base, leaving about 2 inches of soil above the top.

Adjusting for your climate

  • In colder climates with deeper freezes, planting a bit deeper helps protect the bulb from extreme cold and freeze–thaw heaving, so closer to the 4 inch end (plus mulch) is safer.
  • In milder or warmer climates, slightly shallower planting is fine as long as there is at least about 1–2 inches of soil over the top of the clove.

Spacing and orientation

  • Space elephant garlic cloves about 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) apart in all directions so the large bulbs have room to size up.
  • Plant with the pointy end up and the flat basal plate (where roots emerge) down, then cover and water in lightly.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.