Chives: Planting, Growing, Harvesting Tips and Techniques

Chives are a hardy cool-weather perennial plant, a relative of the onion. The tips of chive leaves have a mild onion flavor. Adds chives to salads and as a garnish for many cooked dishes.

Chives have slender, round, hollow grass-like leaves 6 to 10 inches long. Globe-like pinkish-purple flowers shoot up in spring on stalks to 12 inches tall or more. Leaves rise from small scallion-like bulbs that grow in clumps.

Once established, a chive plant will grow for many years. Chive plants will easily grow in a container indoors. Garlic chives—with a subtle garlic flavor—grow just like chives; unlike chives, they have flat not round leaves and white not pink flowers.

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Chives can be started from seeds or divisions. Divisions can be planted in spring as soon as the soil is workable.

Sow chives seeds indoors 4 to 8 weeks before you transplant seedlings in the garden. Seedlings can be transplanted to the garden anytime after the last frost. Sow seeds directly in the garden after the last frost.

The optimal growing temperature for chives is 40-85°F (-40-29°C). Chives can also be grown indoors.

Grow chives in full sun. Chives will thrive in humus-rich, well-drained soil. Keep the soil moist. Shade plants from direct sun in hot climates with porous shade fabric.

Chives can be harvested as soon as the plants are well established. Harvest can begin as soon as plants are 3-4 inches (7.5-10cm) tall. Clip the tops of leaves as you need them. Allow some plants to flower and expand the colony for later division.

Here is your complete guide to growing chives.

Table of Contents

Where to plant chives

Best location: Plant chives in full sun or partial shade.
Soil preparation: Grow chives in well-drained, sandy-loam, a soil rich in organic matter. Prepare planting beds in advance with aged compost. Chives prefer a soil pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Avoid planting in wet soil that can encourage stem and bulb diseases.

Chives planting details

Sowing depth: ¼- ½ inch (12mm)
Space between plant after thinning: 6 inches (15cm)
Days to sprout: 10-14
Days to harvest: 75-95
Storage period: 7-10 refrigerated, frozen, or dried
Suggested varieties: Nonvarietal

When to plant chives

Seed starting indoors: Sow seeds indoors from late winter until early summer; sow seeds in flats Seeds need darkness to germinate. Cover seed trays or pots with a piece of newspaper or cardboard to aid germination. Seeds should germinate in about 14 days at 70°F. After germination, as seedlings begin to grow, remove the covering and place the seedlings under a fluorescent light or in a bright window. Let them grow on until they are 4 to 6 inches tall and ready for transplanting.
Transplanting to the garden: Transplant seedlings into the garden from late spring to late summer.
Outdoor planting time: Chives are hardy plants. Sow chive seeds in the garden as early as 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost in spring. The seed will germinate in 2 to 3 weeks at 60°F. Chive divisions are among the first plants that can be set in the garden in early spring.

Chives planting dates

(These dates are for the Northern Hemisphere)

Average date of the last frost	Planting dates
Jan. 30	Jan. 1-Feb. 1
Feb. 8	Jan. 1-Feb. 1
Feb. 18	Jan. 1-Feb. 1
Feb. 28	Jan. 15-Feb. 15
Mar. 10	Feb. 1-Mar. 1
Mar. 20	Feb. 10-Mar. 10
Mar. 30	Feb. 15-Mar. 15
Apr. 10	Mar. 1-Apr. 1
Apr. 20	Mar. 10-Apr. 10
Apr. 30	Mar. 20-Apr. 20
May 10	Apr. 1- May 1
May 20	April 15-May 15
May 30	May 1-June 1
June 10	May 1-June 1

How to plant chives

Planting depth: Sow seed ¼ to ½ inch deep. Seeds require darkness to germinate; cover the seed with a light planting mix.
Spacing: Space clumps or rows of chives 8 to 12 inches apart; plants will fill in over time. To plant divisions, use a spade or shovel to divide existing clumps, trim back leaves to 1 inch above the ground, and replant the divisions covering the bulblets with soil.
How much to plant: Grow 4 clumps of chives for cooking and kitchen use; grow 6 clumps for preserving.

Chives companion plants

Companion planting: Chives are good companion plants. They are said to improve the flavor of carrots, celery, tomatoes, cress, mint, and grapes. Chives are said to inhibit the growth of beans and peas. Chives deter Japanese beetles and are said to deter black spots on roses, scabs on apples, and mildew on cucumbers.
Chive plant flower heads attract pollinators to the home garden.

Watering and feeding chives

Watering: Chives require moderate regular water to become established; established plants will survive in dry soil. The tips of leaves of plants that dry out will turn brown and papery.
Feeding: Side dress chives with aged compost at midseason.

Chives care and maintenance

Care: Divide chive clumps every 2 to 3 years to prevent overcrowding. See Propagation below for directions. Protect chives from direct sun in hot climates with shade cloth. Deadhead plants regularly to avoid plants going to seed.
Mulching: Mulch around chives with aged compost or commercial organic planting mix.

Chives growing in a container on an urban terrace

Container growing chives

Container growing: Chives will grow easily in containers as an annual. Plant chives in a container 6 inches or deeper. Plant several containers to rotate harvest.
Winter growing: Clumps can be dug up and potted before the first frost and grown indoors in a sunny window over the winter, but first put the clumps in a paper bag and put them in the refrigerator for four weeks to simulate winter dormancy; a dormant period is required to send out new leaves.

Chives pests and diseases

Pests: Chives are generally pest-free. Onion thrips may attack chives growing in a commercial onion-producing region, but thrips are unlikely to bother plants that are regularly watered.
Diseases: Chives commonly have no serious disease problems, however, in high humidity if plants are crowded fungal diseases can develop.

How to harvest chives

When to harvest: Harvest fresh green leaves continuously from early spring to fall, but don’t start harvest until plants are at least 6 inches tall about 5 weeks after planting. Established plants a year old or more can withstand regular harvest.
How to harvest: Cut leaves with garden scissors or a sharp knife. Cut the outer leaves first. Harvest from the base of leaves to avoid plants with cut tops. Leave about 2 inches of leaf blade above the soil in order for the leaves to regrow. Always leave some top growth on the clumps to preserve the strength of the bulbs. Stop harvest 3 weeks before the first frost date to allow plants to flower and the clump to expand. Garlic chives can be pulled roots and all.

Chives in the kitchen

Chives have a mild green onion flavor and aroma. Use chives in any recipe that calls for raw green onions. The flavor of chives is more delicate than onions.
Use chives fresh or dried to add flavor. Snip leaves into salads, soups, and egg dishes; put chives on scrambled eggs or on grilled cheese sandwiches. Add cut chives to vegetables and sprinkle cut chives on pasta salad or potato salad. Sprinkle chopped chives over fish and other entrees to add flavor. Use chives to garnish onion and potato soups. Chives will add an oniony flavor to vinegar, herb butter, and cream cheese spreads.
Whole flowers can be added to salads and omelets. They are onions flavored. Steep flowers in white vinegar; they will impart their rose color and light onions flavor to the vinegar.
Add chives at the very last moment when cooking soups, stews, and sautés otherwise the flavor will be lost.
Culinary companions include basil, dill, oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme.
Garlic chives have a subtle garlic flavor; use them as a salt substitute in soups and stews and with chicken, pork, and lamb dishes. The leaves of garlic chives are flat and the flowers are white.
Chive flowers can be used in flower arrangements.

Preserving and storing chives

Refrigeration: Refrigerate chives in a sealed plastic bag for up to 7 days. Wrap the base of a bunch in a wet paper towel placed in a plastic bag and lightly twist the top then store in the refrigerator drawer. Wash leaves before storing.
Freezing: Chopped leaves can be frozen. Snip fresh leaves into pieces and freeze them in freezer containers or plastic bags.
Drying; Leaves can be dried on a screen set in a warm spot out of the sun with plenty of air circulation.
Storing: Store dried leaves in an airtight container.

Chives propagation

Grow chives from seed or divisions; divisions are small bulbs separated from root clumps.
Seed: Chives are easy to grow from seed; seeds require no special treatment; sow directly in the garden in early spring or start indoors and transplant out in spring or early summer
Division: To divide chive clumps, trim the tops to about 2 inches long and the roots to about 3 inches long. Pull or cut the clump into sections of 4 to 6 bulbs each. Replant divisions 8 to 12 inches apart. Divide older clumps in early spring every 3 years.

Chives varieties to grow

Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) are also called Chinese chives or gow choy. Garlic chives clumps are slightly larger than chives with flat leaves and white flowers. It has a mild garlic flavor.

Get to know chives

Botanical name and family: Allium schoenoprasum (chives); tuberosum, (garlic chives); both are members of the onion family–Amaryllidaceae.
Europe
Type of plant: Chives are herbaceous perennials.
Growing season: Chives will grow in air temperatures from 40° to 85°F—spring through summer; plant chives in autumn or winter in mild-winter regions.
Growing zones: Chives grow best in Zones 3 to 11. Chives are evergreen in mild-winter regions but die back and go dormant in cold-winter regions.
Hardiness: Garlic chives are a hardy cool-weather perennial. Mature plants can tolerate cold to -35°
Plant form and size: Chives from 1 to 2-foot clumps of thin, grass-like leaves (if left unclipped).
Flowers: Chives have large globe-shaped purple-pink flowers. Garlic chives have white flowers. Flowers first appear as small bulblike buds among the round green leaves; the buds open into spherical clusters of flowers that resemble the heads of clover blossoms.
Bloom time: Chives bloom mid-spring to early summer.
Leaves: The leaves of chives are deep green, round, and hollow; the leaves of garlic chives are flat and grasslike.