Chives are a perennial member of the onion family that sport beautiful edible flowers. Here’s how to grow chives in your garden!
Chives are cool-season, cold-tolerant perennials that are best planted in early spring for a late spring and early summer harvest.
Be mindful when planting this herb, as it will take over your garden if the flowers are allowed to develop fully (the flowers scatter the seeds). However, this plant is easy to dig up and move if it does end up invading other parts of your garden.
Types of Chives to Grow
The two species of chives commonly grown in home gardens are common chives (Allium schoenoprasum) and garlic chives (A. tuberosum):
- Common chives consist of clumps of small, slender bulbs that produce thin, tubular, blue-green leaves reaching 10-15 inches in height. The edible, flavorful flowers may be white, pink, purple, or red, depending on variety. They can be grown in zones 3 to 9.
- Garlic chives (also called Chinese chives) look similar to common chives, but their leaves are flatter, greener, and get to be about 20 inches in height. As their name suggests, their leaves have a mild garlic flavor (bulbs are more intense). Flowers are white, and are larger and less densely-clustered than those of common chives. Garlic chives are not quite as cold hardy as common chives, so they are recommended for zones 4 to 9.
Reader Comments
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Probably the Most Useful Herb in my Garden
Chives are one of the most useful herbs I grow. You can use literally any part of the plant in cooking and they taste good in just about any sort of savory dish. They don't overwhelm the flavor of dishes either and can be added liberally. Better yet, when you harvest them they grow back and are ready for another harvest in like a week with well-established plants. They basically grow like grass. Just cut them back to like and inch or two from the soil and they'll pop back up again in a week or two. They grow pretty slowly at first and take awhile to get established from seed, but once established they're perennial and will just keep producing more chives indefinitely if you keep them warm. They grow well on a kitchen windowsill too so I usually plant them in containers and bring them in during winter so I keep having chives all year long.
Chives from seed
I planted chive seeds in a pot on Aug 8. They were up by Aug 19. Very high germination rate. But now it’s Oct 2 and they are still very small., maybe 2-3” very thin and mostly lying flat or bending over. It’s been almost 2 months since I planted them. Shouldn’t they be bigger by now? Shouldn’t they at least be standing up? How long til they actually look like chives?
Chive blossoms
I'm trying to grow chives hydroponically in hopes of growing some chive blossoms. Is there any way to induce the chive blossoming? Any general tips to get blossoms fast?
Browning Chives
I just moved my little chives from the starter tray into a larger pot but now they are looking a bit spindly and the ends are browning even though they are only a few inches tall. How can bring them back to life?
chive vibe
Any time you transplant a plant it goes into a period of shock. It needs to re-set its roots and settle in. Sometimes you can minimize this adjustment period by moving a plant with a large clump of soil around its roots. Now just give it time. It’s a perennial, so it should get over this and come back nicely.
Chives
Hello, I live in Seattle Washington.
My Chives are blooming now in April. I've been wanting to divide and replant some into a different bed, but I can't figure out when to do it? Can I do it now, End of April, as I'm setting up all my new beds with transplants for the season? Or do I need to do it during a dormant phase? And in my climate - when would that be? This plant has been in my garden now 3 years - this will be it's 4th season and it' 4 times the size it was. It is the earliest to come up and the last plant to die out each year. I've got it in my strawberry bed - so once or twice each year I chop some of it up and distribute to keep pests at bay in the berries - totally works well as a companion plant!
Chives Seeds Leaving Soil
This is my first time planting chives from seed. They are coming up beautifully, but I've noticed that they seem to be growing like ingrown hairs, all bent over in half. One of them has pulled its own seed out of the soil. I haven't found anything online about this, so I don't know if this is normal or if something needs to be done. Should I try to replant the seed? Snip it off? Just leave it alone? Please advise.
Normal
It’s normal! Just leave them to grow :)
chive seeds
Since the chive flowers are edible, ARE THE SEEDS EDIBLE?
learn about chives cultivation in India
Im interested to know how to cultivate chives in India specifically Karnataka, Raichur district and some information about export of this chives
Chives plantation & havesting seasons i Sinnar,Maharashtra,India
Pls guide
Chives
I live in a place with sandy soil we have planted regular chives and French chives.We planted them around apple trees.They have always have white flower tops and they have spread a lot thru the grass. We even have mowed them nice onion smell and they have very nice taste.We could sell them or sell the seeds.We have not used any fertilizer at all.They are probably organic by now.We have been here over 25 years and we had planted them soon after that.Can you tell me anything about them?And well we enjoy them so much they could replace our grass. And we would be very happy,the bees and monarch butterfly's are enjoying them right now.So we are helping them now, and that is a plus.So what is wrong about that?
Chive Flowers
I like the flowers on the chives to look at. My husband keeps cutting them off because he said they are tough and it's the only way new shoots will grow. I am of the opinion that new shoots grow up anyway.
Chive Flowers
Hi Laura,
The purple chive flowers are edible as well as beautiful, and can be enjoyed from early May to late June. If you cut off the flowers, new shoots will grow, but you can also wait to cut them after they have finished blooming in mid-summer and still get new growth. Chives will not grow new shoots unless you cut the foliage down when harvesting, or you let the flowers bloom and seed new chives for the following year. Separate and divide large clumps for transplanting to help maintain a healthy crop.
What is the life cycle of a chive?
What is a chives life cycle?
Growing chives
Chives take about 80 days from seed to harvest. The plant’s life depends on constant harvesting of the leaves. Also, every year, divide the clumps and plant in a different part of the ground.
Chives
Can chives be grown in a as a potted plant? If so what are your suggestions for doing this?
Thank you,
Sherri
growing chives in pots
Yes, chives are easily grown in pots placed in a sunny location. Use pots with good drainage and fill with a prepared soil mix. Water to maintain uniform soil moisture.
help on growing
i am wondering if someone could tell me what to plant next to my jalapenos for best results to avoid bugs and for best yield of harvest.
Re: Companions for Jalapeños
Basil, onions, leeks, okra, garlic, petunia, nasturtium, and my favorite bug repeller..... Marigolds. I always have marigolds in the garden to repel aphids, beetles, potato and squash bugs, etc... Jalpenos have lots of companions. The ones I listed will help keep the bugs at bay.
new gardener
so my daughter school planted chives for fun project, they planted them in a small plant pot. they are growing amazingly, but they are growing so fast that i'm worried they need to be moved into something bigger. or will they be ok in the small plant pot ? any help will do and thank you.
It’s recommended to plant
It’s recommended to plant individual chive plants in a 6- to 8-inch diameter pot, or plant multiple plants about 4 inches apart in a larger pot. Use pots that have holes in the bottom and use light well-draining soil mix. You can also plant the chives outdoors in the garden.
Thank You
I have automotive background and have no knowledge of plant or agri-business.
I planted a chive two years. In the first year, I harvested a few times. During the winter, I left it. However, I noticed, it grew and just harvested. I am encouraged with the chive. I am going to grow chives in my yard. Home-grown chives contain some sweetness and tender vs. commercial sold chives. I will plant more chives in my yard according to your manual & instruction, which are very useful to follow. Thank you very much.
Chives
Wish you luck with your chives, though I am sure you will be just fine! There are also garlic chives you might enjoy as well.
At what point are the seeds
At what point are the seeds ready to harvest for future planting? Ours just came out in flowers, but I am not sure what to look for as the seed.
Chive seeds will develop
Chive seeds will develop after the flowers are pollinated. The flower head will dry to a pale tan color, and the stem will start to turn brown: At that point, the seeds inside should be ready to harvest. Snip off the dried flower heads (you might place a white plate or bowl underneath to catch any seeds that might fall), place them in a paper bag, and shake (alternatively, you can rub the flower head gently between your fingers over a bowl). The black seeds will release and you can collect them. Be sure to separate them from the chaff (the rest of the flower head pieces). Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place; the seeds may last 1 to 2 years. Chive varieties may cross pollinate, so you might not get exactly the same offspring as the parent plant if other varieties are about.
I have harvested the seeds
I have harvested the seeds from my chive plant. I don't want more plants, so can I eat the seeds - scattered as a condiment, perhaps?
Which part of the chive plant
Which part of the chive plant do you eat? Is it the thicker stems that grow the flowers or the softer leaves with no flowers?
Any part of the chive plant
Any part of the chive plant is edible. Most people eat the long green stalks raw, snipping them with scissors into dishes. You can even eat the pretty flowers; scatter them into salads.
I haven't cut my chives back
I haven't cut my chives back this year. I had a BUNCH, and they all bloomed into gorgeous flowers. Now, the leaves are toppling down. The base of the leaves are very thick and woody. Should I just snip them down? Will they re-grow this season?
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