How to grow chives — common, garlic & harvesting

How to grow chives — common chives, garlic chives, harvesting

Chives are the friendly face of the Allium family — onions and garlic's gentler cousins, delivering a clean onion or garlic note that finishes eggs, soups, and potato dishes without overpowering them. They are perennial in USDA zones 3-9 and across the UK, returning thicker and more productive each year. The flowers are edible and ornamental — pink-purple pom-poms on common chives, white star-clusters on garlic chives. The one critical caveat: as members of the Allium family, chives are toxic to cats and dogs, and the plant should be sited and managed accordingly in any pet household.

Track your chive harvest cycles in Growli: Add chives to the Growli app and you'll get reminders to cut the clump every 2-3 weeks, deadhead flowers before they self-seed, and divide established clumps every 3 years.

Common chives vs garlic chives

There are two chive species worth growing at home, and they are not interchangeable in cooking:

Common chives are the classic culinary chive — slender hollow leaves, pink pom-pom flowers in late spring, sharp onion flavour. The standard chive in supermarket pots and most herb gardens.

Garlic chives (also called Chinese chives, Asian chives) have flat strap-like leaves and a noticeably garlic-tinged flavour. They flower later in summer with white star-shaped umbels and self-seed enthusiastically — deadhead before seeds set or you will have garlic chives everywhere within 2-3 years. UNH Extension confirms they are hardy in USDA zones 3-9.

UK retailers — variety availability

• Sarah Raven, Crocus, Hayloft, RHS Plants stock both common and garlic chives in 9cm pots and seed packets.
• B&Q / Homebase / supermarkets carry common chives in spring; garlic chives are less widely stocked outside specialist sellers.

US retailers — variety availability

• Burpee, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Botanical Interests carry common and garlic chive seeds plus starter plants.
• Mountain Valley Growers, Richters Herbs carry less common cultivars including the giant Siberian form.

Soil and sun

Chives are happy in conditions that would stress Mediterranean herbs:

• Sun: Full sun preferred (6+ hours), tolerates light shade.
• Soil: Rich, moisture-retentive, neutral to slightly acidic (pH 6.0-7.0). Mix in compost before planting.
• Drainage: Good but not sharp — chives like moist roots, unlike rosemary or thyme.

In hot southern US summers (zones 9-10), part-afternoon shade extends the harvest window. In UK gardens, full sun is fine throughout the season.

Planting

Chives are easy from seed, transplant, or division:

From seed (cheapest):

1. Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost, or directly outdoors in mid-spring once soil is workable.
2. Sow 6mm (1/4 inch) deep, 1cm apart.
3. Keep moist; germination in 7-14 days at 18-22°C.
4. Thin seedlings to 15cm apart once they have 3-4 stems.
5. Plants are ready for light harvesting in 75-90 days.

From transplant:

A garden-centre pot of chives is usually a clump of 30-50 individual seedlings. Knock the rootball out and split into 3-5 smaller clumps before planting — this gives you multiple plants from one purchase and prevents overcrowding.

From division (best for established plants):

In early spring, dig up an established clump, slice into quarters with a spade, and replant each piece. Each division becomes a full plant within one growing season.

Watering

Chives prefer consistent moisture:

• First year: Water 2-3 times weekly during dry spells.
• Established plants: Water during prolonged drought. Mulching helps retain moisture.
• Container chives: Water when the top inch is dry, often daily in summer.

Drought-stressed chives produce thin yellowing leaves and bolt to flower early.

Harvesting — cut for continuous regrowth

The key to a productive chive plant is cutting whole leaves at the base, not snipping the tips:

1. Wait until leaves are 15cm tall and pencil-thick.
2. With sharp scissors, cut the outer leaves about 1 inch above the soil line. UNH Extension specifically recommends cutting all the way down rather than topping individual blades.
3. New leaves regrow from the bulb within 7-14 days.
4. Take roughly a third of the clump in one session, every 2-3 weeks during the growing season.

Never just snip the tops of individual leaves — those leaves stop growing from the cut point and look untidy. Always cut whole leaves at the base for clean regrowth.

Frequent cutting actually improves production by signalling the plant to push new growth. A neglected clump produces fewer, tougher leaves than one harvested every 2-3 weeks.

Flowers — edible and ornamental

Chive flowers are one of the prettier edible flowers. Common chives produce pink-purple pom-poms in late spring; garlic chives produce white star clusters in late summer.

• Flavour — milder version of the leaf flavour. Pull apart the individual florets and scatter on salads, soft cheese, or omelettes.
• Decision to deadhead — flowers are pretty but the plant slows leaf production while flowering, and garlic chives self-seed enthusiastically. Either accept reduced leaf harvest while flowering, or deadhead before seeds set.
• For maximum leaves all season: Cut the whole flower stalk down as flowers start to fade.

Chive vinegar (white wine vinegar infused with fresh chive flowers for 2-3 weeks) takes on a pink tint and onion-floral flavour.

Winter care

Chives are hardy across USDA zones 3-9 and all of the UK. The plant dies back to the bulb after first frost and resprouts in early spring.

• In-ground plants: No protection needed. Mulch lightly with leaves or straw in coldest zones (3-4) for faster spring regrowth.
• Container plants: Move to a sheltered spot; chives in containers in zones 4 and colder benefit from being sunk into a garden bed for winter insulation.
• Year-round indoor chives: Bring a small pot inside in October. Place on a bright south-facing windowsill. Indoor chives provide a steady winter harvest but become weaker in light-limited rooms.

Divide established clumps every 3-4 years in early spring. The centre of an old clump produces thinner leaves; division refreshes vigour.

Pests and problems

Chives are remarkably pest-resistant — the onion compounds repel most insects. Watch for:

• Onion thrips — tiny insects causing silvery streaks on leaves. Rinse foliage with water, encourage natural predators.
• Allium leaf miner (UK) — larvae tunnel inside leaves. Cover with fine mesh in flight seasons (March-May, October-November).
• Rust — orange pustules on leaves in humid weather. Cut affected leaves, improve air circulation.
• Self-seeding (garlic chives) — deadhead flowers before seeds set, or the species spreads aggressively.

Pet safety — chives and pets (critical)

Chives are toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. The ASPCA classifies common chives (Allium schoenoprasum) as toxic; the same applies to garlic chives (A. tuberosum) as a member of the Allium family. The toxic principle is N-propyl disulfide.

The mechanism is serious. Allium species cause the transformation of haemoglobin into methaemoglobin, leading to hemolytic anaemia with Heinz body formation — the dog or cat's red blood cells rupture, oxygen delivery fails, and the animal becomes lethargic, weak, and pale.

Clinical signs include:

• Vomiting and diarrhoea
• Lethargy and weakness
• Pale or yellow gums (jaundice)
• Rapid breathing and heart rate
• Blood in urine (red-brown discolouration)
• Loss of appetite

Symptoms may appear within 24 hours of a large ingestion but often develop over several days — easy to miss. The Merck Veterinary Manual notes that cats are particularly susceptible, and some Japanese dog breeds (Akita, Japanese Spitz, Shiba Inu) have heightened sensitivity due to a hereditary red blood cell trait.

Practical guidance for pet households:

• Site chives in a part of the garden pets do not access — raised bed, fenced kitchen garden, or container on a high shelf.
• Watch for chives self-seeding into lawn areas where pets play.
• Do not feed any chive trimmings or flowers to pets, including in homemade pet food.
• Pet-friendly herb alternatives: rosemary, thyme, basil — all ASPCA non-toxic (in small amounts) compared with the Allium family.

If a pet ingests chives, call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 immediately, or contact your vet. Quicker treatment significantly improves outcomes.

Companion planting

Chives are widely planted as a pest-deterrent companion for vegetables (in beds without pet access — see the pet safety section above):

• Carrots — the onion scent confuses carrot fly. One of the strongest evidence-based companions in the vegetable garden.
• Tomatoes — repels aphids and may reduce blackspot fungal pressure when grown nearby.
• Roses — chive plantings around roses are a classic ornamental gardening pairing against aphids and blackspot.
• Apple trees — historically planted at the base to deter aphids and apple scab spores.

Avoid planting chives near:

• Beans, peas, lentils, and other legumes — alliums slow legume nitrogen fixation and stunt growth.
• Asparagus — generally avoided in companion planting tradition.

Critically: in pet households, the "companion plant chives near everything" advice needs to be balanced against the toxicity warning above. If your garden has dog access, site chives behind fencing or in a raised bed pets cannot reach.

Culinary use

Chives are a finishing herb — added at the end of cooking to preserve their fresh flavour:

• Common chives: Chop finely over scrambled eggs, baked potatoes with sour cream, potato salad, vichyssoise, fresh cheese.
• Garlic chives: Asian stir-fries, dumpling fillings (especially Chinese leek dumplings), savoury pancakes, scrambled eggs.
• Flowers: Pull apart florets and scatter on salads, soft cheese boards, or compound butter.

Chives lose flavour rapidly when dried. For storage, freeze chopped leaves in ice cube trays with water or olive oil.

Related articles

• How to grow basil — the warm-season summer herb
• How to grow parsley — another moisture-loving cooking herb
• How to grow mint — similar consistent-moisture requirement
• Types of herbs — Mediterranean vs moisture-loving vs annual
• Companion planting guide — chives as a pest-deterrent companion

Reviewed and updated by the Growli editorial team. Pet-safety claims sourced from the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center and the Merck Veterinary Manual. For questions about anything here, open Growli and ask — or email hello@getgrowli.app.