How to grow Chives

Allium schoenoprasum · common chives

A hardy perennial herb with hollow, onion-flavoured leaves. It grows in dense clumps and bears round pink-purple flower heads in early summer.

Quick facts

Type	Herb
Family	Amaryllidaceae
Light	Full sun
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for sowing	from 7 °C
Germination	14 days
Seedlings ready	45 days
Sowing to harvest	60 days
Where it grows	Open ground, At home

When to plant

Sow for seedlings about 8 weeks before planting out.

It tolerates light frost: plant out in open ground about three weeks before your last spring frost.

The first harvest comes about 60 days after the shoots appear.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 5 days	—	nitrogen, at the start of the stage
Harvest	every 5 days	—	nitrogen, at the start of the stage

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 4 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage
Harvest	every 4 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage

Growing notes

Light

Best in full sun; tolerates partial shade, though it flowers less there.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive soil rich in organic matter that does not become waterlogged.

Care

Sow seed 0.5–1 cm deep and thin to 10–15 cm. Water regularly, especially in pots; plants in the ground cope with short dry spells but grow less. Feed lightly with nitrogen in spring and mid-summer; too much fertiliser is not needed. Start cutting when leaves are about 15 cm long, cutting them 2.5–5 cm above the soil; after flowering cut the whole clump down to about 5 cm for fresh leaves. Divide clumps every 2–4 years.

Pests and diseases of Chives

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.