Hardnecks are further divided into varieties called purple striped, porcelain and rocambole. The difference between the three involve clove color, size and flavor, as well as how the flower stalk behaves once it emerges. For instance, rocambole flower stalks tend to form tight coils once they emerge. They have numerous cloves with layers of papery-white skins. They store much longer than hard necks, up to a year.
Flower stalks are rare with softneck garlic.
A cross section of a typical softneck garlic will reveal several large outer cloves with a cluster of smaller cloves inside. Softneck garlic is divided into two categories, artichoke and silverskin. Artichoke garlic gets its name from the way cloves overlap each other, much like an artichoke head. They produce many mild-flavored cloves. Silverskin garlics tend to be the best for braiding and last up to a year with proper storage.