Frillylily, i can grow softneck and Creole garlic way up here in the north (although I'm sure the bulbs do not get as large as they do further south), so they should do fine for you (they store much better than the hardneck). What I really love about hardneck garlic is the size of the individual cloves, which is usually much larger than with the softneck types. I particularly like the variety "Music," which has only 4-6 cloves per bulb but they are large!