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How to Grow Chives: The Complete Guide

Lush flowering chives with purple buds in the garden. Wild Chives flower or Flowering Onion, Allium Schoenoprasum , Chinese Chives, Schnittlauch, Garlic Chives. Shallow depth of field
Photo Credit
Vlad Antonov
Botanical Name
Allium schoenoprasum, A. tuberosum
Plant Type
Herbs
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Soil pH
Slightly Acidic to Neutral
Bloom Time
Summer
Flower Color
Pink
Purple
Red
White
Hardiness Zone
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Special Features
Attracts Butterflies

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Chive Plants

Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener
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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!

About Chives: What are Chives?

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.

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Planting

Chives grow best in full sun, though they will tolerate light shade. Ideally, the soil should be moist, fertile, and well-draining. Before planting, incorporate 4 to 6 inches of well-composted organic matter. Work compost into the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. (Read more about soil amendments and preparing the soil for planting.)

When to Plant Chives

  • Chives are considered a cool-season crop, meaning they grow best in the spring and fall. The harsher temperatures of summer usually cause them to go dormant until cool weather arrives again.
  • For a head start in colder regions, start chive seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost. (See local frost dates.) Transplants need good growth before being set in the garden.
  • Outdoors, sow seeds as soon as the soil is workable in the spring. They can take a few weeks to germinate, so don’t panic! For the best germination and growth, the temperature of the soil should be between 60º and 70ºF (15º and 21ºC).
  • Plant transplants outdoors once the threat of frost has passed.

How to Plant Chives

  • Sow seeds about 2 inches apart and no more than ¼ inch deep. Cover with a thin layer of soil.
  • Once seedlings emerge, thin them so that plants are spaced between 4 to 6 inches apart in all directions.

Chives growing in the ground

Growing

How to Grow Chives

  • Minimal care is needed for fully grown, established plants.
  • Although chives are drought tolerant, it’s important to give them consistent watering throughout the growing season for high yields. Moisten the soil thoroughly when watering.
  • Chives’ small bulbs grow near the soil surface, so use mulch to conserve moisture and keep the weeds down.
  • For good production, top-dress with a nitrogen-heavy fertilizer in late spring or early summer if your soil is not already nutrient-rich.
  • After the flowers bloom, remove them so that the seeds aren’t spread throughout your garden.
  • Remember to divide the plants every 3 to 4 years in the spring. Chives are much more productive if divided regularly. Divide them into clumps of at least 10 small bulbs and allow divided plants to grow for several weeks before harvesting. 

Types

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 the 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.

Harvesting

How to Harvest Chives

  • Begin harvesting chive leaves about 30 days after you transplant or 60 days after seeding.
  • Be sure to cut the leaves down to the base when harvesting (within 1 to 2 inches of the soil).
  • Harvest 3 to 4 times during the first year. In subsequent years, cut plants back monthly.
  • The chive plant will flower in late spring or early summer. The flowers are edible and taste best just after they have opened—they should look full and bright.

purple Chive flowers

How to Store Chives

  • Use chives when they’re fresh or frozen (freeze the leaves in an airtight bag). Dried chives lose their flavor.
  • Store chives in a cool place in a resealable container.

Gardening Products

Pests/Diseases

  • Bulb rots (caused by soilborne fungi)
  • White rot
  • Mildew
  • Rust
  • Smut
  • Fungal leaf spots (such as purple blotch and gray mold)
  • Onion fly
  • Thrips

Wit and Wisdom

Recipes
Mashed Potatoes With Chives
Herbs
About The Author
Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the website companion of The Old Farmer's Almanac. She covers gardening, plants, pest control, soil composition, seasonal and moon c...
Read More from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Anonymous</span> Mon, 03/09/2015 - 01:05
How long does it take chives to come to the surfae?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 03/09/2015 - 13:23

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

 <span>Rachel0444</span> Sun, 04/12/2015 - 05:30
How do I know how many seeds I need to plant in order to ensure growth? For example, I was told that for lettuce seeds, for every 4 you plant, only 1 will sprout, but with pole beans, for every 4 your plant, 4 out of 4 might sprout or at least 3 out of 4. I am having troubles knowing how many seeds to plant for others as well.. onions, tomatoes . Thanks !
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 04/15/2015 - 10:08

Hi Rachel, If you check out our Garden Planner (free for 30 days), it will actually show you how many plants you need for the space. Click here: http://gardenplanner.almanac.com/

 <span>Roger Payne</span> Tue, 02/17/2015 - 08:53
I miss Chives in my cooking, because I now live in Thailand. A friend is bring over some seeds from the UK for me to try and grow. Does anyone have any advice to help me be successful
<span>Sharon Cornell</span> Tue, 05/05/2015 - 09:28
you can buy a Juice Plus Tower Garden. With it, you can grow all the veggies and herbs indoors and outdoors. For more information: www.sharoncornell.towergarden.com
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 02/18/2015 - 15:14

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.

 <span>Suwit Lee</span> Tue, 02/17/2015 - 05:52
I have a pot of purple flower chive My friend said that is just for decoration,can not eat. Is it true? Thanks for someone to confirm this.
<span>Penny Garcia</span> Wed, 05/20/2015 - 20:01
Says above the flowers are edible.
<span>Linda Yawn</span> Wed, 09/24/2014 - 01:15
I bought a chive plant and am enjoying the chives but the stems only grow 4 or 5 inches and then fall over.They also fall over if I touch them. Also, the stems are very thin. They could never hold up a flower as in the pictures. They are little more than the width of a human hair. What am I doing wrong?