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.

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.

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.

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.

Opinions seem to be mixed about cutting back chives. Some sources suggest cutting back the entire plant to remove spent flower stalks, to about 2 inches in height. Other say do not cut down the entire clump; the plant needs some of its leaves to ensure future growth.
Either way, chives will come back next year; they are perennials.

We would suggest chopping chives before freezing. Also they should be washed and thoroughly dried prior to freezing.

Chives should be washed and thoroughly dried before freezing.

Chives germinate in 2 to 3 weeks, and take about 70 to 90 days to fully mature.

Hi Roger,
Please see planting and growing advice at the top of this page. You can start the seeds in a container indoors if you like. Chives are easy to grow from seed.

You certainly can. Each bulb produces a cluster of leaves. Just wait until the leaves are at least 6 inches tall, then you can harvest the outside leaves of the clump, leaving about 2 inches of leaf at the base, which helps the plant to regrow during the season. You can harvest a few times during a season; avoid older, yellowing leaves. Flowers may take as long as July to appear; the flowers themselves are edible, but the flower stalk is sort of woody, so should be discarded. If you won't be eating the flowers, cut the flower stalk off at the base once the flowers have finished blooming but before they go to seed (or, if you don't mind not having flowers, cut the flower stalk as soon as you see one start to develop).

The container sounds fine--place it in full sun, and keep up with the watering (chives like good drainage, but don't like to be dry for long periods). If you live in a cold climate and want the chives to survive the winter, you'll need to bring the container inside in fall--place in an unheated area, such as a garage. Check the instructions on your brand of corn gluten--this acts also as a pre-emergent herbicide, and it is recommended usually that you don't apply it until after your plant seeds have germinated. If you are using chive transplants, they won't be affected. Corn gluten meal on its own has only nitrogen (about 9-0-0); some products will also have other things, like kelp, added which adds a little phosphorus and potassium. It's recommended not to over-fertilize chives, or it will make the flavor less intense.

All parts of chives are edible. The little bulb underground is used as a mild onion, and can be added to soups, omelets, etc. The leaves are tossed in soups and salads, or sprinkled on potatoes or cottage cheese/cracker appetizers. The flower is also separated into petals and scattered over salads. The flower stalk is edible, but not very tasty once the flower blooms--but you can still cut it up for salads if you'd like.

In terms of companion planting, chives are generally fine with most plants. Plant next to carrots and/or roses to repel aphids, mites, and nematodes.