No idea at all - they could be hardneck, softneck or elephant and I'd probably scratch a leaf to make sure it smells of garlic. I'm not sure where in Zone 5 you are but normally garlic is planted in the fall and harvested in early summer up here. Right now, I'd do exactly what you are doing and also put some kind of marker as to where they are. If they're garlic, they're probably going to stop growing soon and die back to the bulb by around the end of july. After that, they'll rest a bit and start growing again in the late fall and create heads for you next year.

Thanks for sharing my excitement. It's amazing how gardeners go gaga over a good deal. Yes, they are stained a light green, a nice "blending" color. Dani, I love your post on the different colors every year. I had already thought that maybe I will paint them each different colors (like my ladders) but wonder if that will be too crazy looking. I probably will after the first two years when they need a refresher. Iris9 - yup, the same one from Lowe's. I like your idea of clematis, and at least one will have a clematis winding through it. I'm thinking half will be flowers, half veggies - scarlet runner beans, sweet peas, cucumbers, etc. The fun is that I get to change it every year. The Black-eyed susans are doing great this year and are HUGE! It's all the rain that they love. And yes I will post photos :-) Been too busy this summer to post much, but winter's coming, when I have more time to garden daydream.

There are some photos here... The spores are bright orange, not yellow and very powdery. If you look at the photos you can actually see little raised bumps. Every fall I go bargin hunting at the local nurseries looking for prennials I refuse to pay the full price for and a couple of years ago almost every Daylily they had was covered with rust, so yes nurseries can be a source of rust. If you decide to speay make sure you use a systemic. The first time I had it here I used a contact spray which looked like it was working but the rust kept coming back. I eventually gave up and let it run it's course. I am in Zone 5 so winter kills it. I had it in 2005, 2006, and 2007. I have since changed my buying habits and have not seen it again. I no longer buy from people in the south or areas without the extended cold spells it takes to kill it. If they buy new intros from the south I get them to send my plants out as early as possible to avoid their new plants sending it here. It is unsightly but I cannot say it has actually killed any plants here. I am sure it set some back and they did not preform as well the following years. Leaf streak can look like rust, look for the little RAISED bumps and the orange powdery spores. I was out in the garden this morning and saw 1 case of leaf streak that made me check to make sure that's what it was so even though you have seen rust a quick view of any miscolored leaves tends to make you think about it. It is not the end of the world either. Here is a link that might be useful: Rust

It will be fine. You may dust it with cinnamon. Or not. The leaf will have a minor scar but it still supports the plant.