Are you in zone 11? That's pretty warm -- I've linked an article below about growing garlic in zones 7, 8 and 9. It needs some cold weather to develop properly, so you do plant in the fall or even as late as December in warmer zones. (in Northern Hemisphere, of course.) You'll also need to choose your variety carefully, as only some of them do well in warm climates (see the article). I'd be interested to know if garlic works in zone 11 -- good luck with it! Here is a link that might be useful: grow garlic in warm climates

i doubt anyone can id it whether from a description or looking at it. i don't know about starting it indoors over the winter that might work. if you had planted the cloves outside in the fall they would be frozen solid now. as garlic ages inside the house, a green shoot will pierce the paper of each clove. if you look at the base you'll see bumps/protrusions that are roots about to grow. so based upon that, wait for the cloves to get to that growth stage. when they are there then separate the cloves and put them into the freezer on a paper plate not touching each other. by the next day they will be frozen solid as if they were in the ground. then put them into a baggie and leave them in the freezer. as soon as the ground thaws 3" down from the surface put them in the ground but don't defrost them just plant them straight from the freezer. now they are going to be at a disadvantage because they have not grown any roots as if they were planted last fall but this would at least simulate being in the ground due to the freezing. you'll get smaller bulbs than if fall planted but you should get something come july for planting in the fall.

If you scroll up and read the second post, it comprehensively explains about growing bulbils. It wouldn't be advisable planting them in flats, there won't be enough depth for the roots to grow. Flats would also dry out too quickly, bulbils are very sensitive to lack of water and their growth will be checked if allowed to dry out too quickly. However, if you prefer to grow them in a container, ideally, allow at least 6" depth. I've had success in both containers and the open ground. The bulbils are useful sprinkled between rows of different varieties as dividers:) If you take a look around these sites, it may help you to identify the group that your hardneck belongs to - http://www.filareefarm.com/ps.html http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/overview.htm This is a great blog with photos about growing bulbils http://goingtoseed.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/garlic-bulbil-harvest/ In the comments, there's a link to Snakeroot farm which explains about the effect of planting on times whether you get rounds or minature bulbs. I prefer rounds as they tend to yield larger, almost normal sized bulbs when you replant them the following year. The exception would be the rounds from porcelains which yields bulbs about 1 - 1 1/2" diameter. This post was edited by zqnmegan on Sun, Jul 28, 13 at 16:42

I agree with George that it is likely to survive. Well, unless it gets one of the rot diseases. It is hard to tell just from hearing about it if it is merely suffering from being too wet or if it may have developed a rot disease. I think you have nothing to lose by leaving it in the ground and letting it grow. It might even die down to the ground and then regrow later in the summer if the weather ever stops dropping constant rainfall. Elephant garlic is not actually a garlic either. It is a variant of the leek family, so I am not sure how much it grows like garlic or how much it grows more like leeks. I don't grow it often because it has a mild flavor and I like the stronger flavor of true garlic. We'll have to wait to see what our Garlic and Tomato King has to say about it later.