How to Grow Chives

One of the easiest herbs to grow is the chive. Essentially, the chive is in the onion family and each set of leaves grows from a miniature bulb.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Chives can be planted from seed which sprouts easily but not really fast and grows into nice-sized plants in just a few months. Or you can buy them as young plants in 6-packs or purchase them ready-grown in pots.

2. 
   Chives in a pot

   Edible chives can be grown indoors. They will need a sunny window or you can use a fluorescent grow light to supplement low light.

3. Pot seedlings or small plants in a 4" pot or larger with regular potting soil. You can feed them lightly with a commercial fertilize and bonemeal a few times a year while they are in active growth. Keep soil moist but not wet.

4. Chives can be grown outdoors in zones 3 to 10. They will grow in full sun or accept a little dappled shade. Not fussy about soil, they can grow into big clumps that are both decorative and useful.

5. 
   The round flowerheads of the regular chive

   There are two popular kinds of chives: the regular cylindrical hollow leafed chive (Allium schoenoprasum) with its purple flowers and onion-like flavor, and the flat-leafed 'garlic chive' (A. tuberosum) with showy edible white flowers and a milder flavor. Both grow under the same conditions.

6. Whether you grow chives indoors or outdoors expect that they will probably die back and go dormant in the winter like most bulb-type plants. (Sometimes, indoors and in warm climates, they may stay green all year.) They will rest for only a month or two before re-sprouting again. You can hold back on water a little during this period, but don't them dry out.

7. You can use chives in pots to cheer up patios or balconies. They look wonderful in decorator containers filled with other herbs like parsley, sage, dill, thyme or oregano.

8. If you have a yard, create a whole herb garden for color and culinary use, but make sure you plant it close enough to the kitchen door that it will be convenient to use.

9. 
   Garlic chives in bud

   Like so many other herbs, the chive is showy enough to use in the flower garden. The regular chive grows between 10 - 15" tall in neat clumps and blooms in a pink-lilac globular flower. The garlic chive will grow a few inches taller, also in a neat clumping habit and shows off big white clusters of small flowers. These plants make great edging plants, but if you do let them set seed, they can become somewhat invasive.

10. All chives are good as flavorings in cooking or chopped fresh as garnishes or in salads.

Resources

• Gates & Croft Horticultural Design Info & Ideas

[Wasatch]

on 12/3/2008 I have a small patch and use it all summer. Thanks

[GreenGardenChic]

on 11/30/2008 I love my chive patches. One plant I'm happy to let take over. The flowers also have that mild flavor and looks pretty garnishing salads.

[Sugarbush]

on 11/29/2008 I'm going to have chives around my garden as a border next spring. Isn't it true that plants in the onion family help to keep the varmints away?

Willie