Chives are perennial members of the onion family that sport beautiful edible flowers. Plus, they’re a wonderful companion plant that helps deter pests. Here’s how to grow chives in your garden!
Chives are cool-season, cold-tolerant perennials best planted in early to mid-spring for an 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.
Chives are also a wonderful companion plant that deters pests. They’re a good friend to plant with carrots, celery, lettuce, peas, and tomatoes.
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.
For more information on how to grow chives click the following hyperlink to Farmers Almanac Chives.
For other resources please click on Gardening Know How's Chives link.
Description: (Allium tuberosum). These winter-tolerant chives are great for greenhouse or garden production. They have great garlic flavor and are popular with Asian chefs. We love these easy-to-grow chives. Chinese chives thrive in well-draining, fertile soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. They prefer full sun but can tolerate partial shade. The plants need consistent moisture, especially during hot weather, and benefit from mulching to retain soil moisture and suppress weeds. Divide clumps in spring every 3-4 years.
Description: (Allium schoenoprasum). Wonderful, mild onion flavor. These long, thin chives are excellent in many meals; great raw or cooked. Lavender flowers. Baker Creek has long sold Common Chives seeds. But this summer a federal bureaucrat sent us an odd Warning Letter asserting that use of the adjective “common” may somehow violate federal law. When we spoke, she said the “international code of nomenclature” does not list any varieties for chives, so “common chives” might suggest the seeds were a genetic variety or kind that the global code does not recognize. Chives grow best in well-draining, fertile soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. They prefer full sun but can tolerate partial shade. Soil should be kept consistently moist but not soggy. Mulching around the plants helps retain moisture and suppress weeds.
