@OldGardener, I don't think this photo is the early red italian. Every picture I've seen of it, including the one from filaree farm, does not have cloves around the stem. I've gotten garlic from filaree that had the cloves around the stem but I can't for the life of me remember which one it was.

Doing a google images search for 'early red italian garlic' doesn't show any with the cloves around the stem.

I am not sure what to say. These were sent to me by Filaree - almost half of them were like this - the other half a more normal configuration....

If they aren't Early Red Italian, it gives me pause to order from them again.

I pulled my receipt and these were definitely sent as Early Red Italian:

G-ERI-B Early Red Italian (Artichoke) 1 18.00T
G-IR-B Inchelium Red (Artichoke) 1 18.00T
G-MF-B Mild French (Silverskin) 1 18.00T
G-MXR-L Mexican Red Silver (Silverskin) 1 18.00T
G-GC-L Georgian Crystal (Porcelain) 1 20.00T
G-CHNP-L Chinese Purple (Turban) 1 20.00T

I intentionally pulled, photographed and planted each bag separately so I know for sure that I did not mix them up. Each bag felt like it weighed a pound so I am not sure what to say (?).

This is definitely a mystery.

Compounded by the fact that I also had a few bulbs like that, but it was a few years ago and I can't remember which variety they sent that had the extra bulbs on the stem. This is definitely a curiosity.

Do your bulbs have a purple or red tint? My early red italians do.

I looked through my photos and, yes, there is some light red/purple striping on them but they are not as red as the Mexican Red Silver that they sent me:

Garlic (Allium sativum 'Mexican Red Silver')

They do, however, have more coloration than the Inchelium Red that they sent:

Are there growing conditions that could cause this? I know in the past, I have seen this type of deformation (if you will), too, but even then, it was only on a few bulbs in the entire bed. I just cannot remember what variety it was either.

If you feel that these were mis-labeled, please remove the photos as I certainly would not want to mislead anyone just because I was sent the wrong product.

I have emailed Filaree in regards to this mystery and will share any feedback that I may receive.

I don't know enough to say whether it's mislabeled or not. Really, my garlic knowledge is very limited compared to some of the garlic experts we have around here.

I'd love to know what Filaree says in their response!

Dave, I did not ever receive any reply from Filaree. Could we go ahead and delete this photo?

I think we should move it to the parent plant Garlic (Allium sativum)

If you agree I'll make the move.

Absolutely Thanks, Dave.

Done!

, Dave, And thank you for catching the error. As I had not grown this particular garlic before (I guess I still haven't ), I had nothing to compare to. I am disappointed that Filaree never did respond but I am very happy that you have such a good eye! Again, many thanks

You're most welcome. I only noticed it because Early Red Italian is our main garlic we grow and we love it, and are very familiar with it. Filaree sells great garlic - too bad they didn't answer your mail.

Next time your order something from Trish let me know and I'll throw a few cloves of Early Red Italian in there for you.

I agree that Filaree seems like a good company. They definitely sell good-looking garlic and they are quick with shipping, too. It is definitely possible that my messages were lost in cyberspace - an intermittent issue that I am currently battling - but I did not want to leave this thread hanging any longer while I try to get the issue sorted out.

Your offer is very generous. I will be placing an order with Trish come September/October when the weather finally breaks. Please don't feel like you have to send any garlic with the order but if a single, stray clove should find its way here...

Anyway, thank you for catching this. Knowing now that it is your family's main garlic makes me want to try it again even more

We do love this garlic. Yes, Sep/Oct will be the time to plant the garlic and please do remind me if/when you place an order with her! I would be very happy to share with you.

You are so generous - thank you! BTW, the soap went over big! I had to fight to get just 1 bar.