How to grow chives.

Chives at a glance

Chives are one of the easiest herbs to keep going. They are a hardy member of the onion family, so once you have a clump it returns year after year with next to no fuss. Get the moisture right and they look after themselves.

Sowing and planting

Chives are easy from seed, but because one plant lasts for years, many people just buy a pot and get going straight away. If you do sow, spring is the time:

• Sow indoors in early spring in modules of damp peat-free seed compost, 0.5-1cm (quarter to half an inch) deep. You can also sow thinly outdoors in spring at the same depth.
• Keep them warm and bright: they germinate at 20-25C, with seedlings appearing within about three weeks.
• Move seedlings on once they are a few centimetres tall, and harden off indoor-raised plants for about a week before they go outside.
• Thin or space young plants 15-20cm (6-8in) apart and plant out clumps at least 15cm (6in) apart.

A supermarket pot of chives is usually a mass of crowded seedlings. Tip it out, split it into two or three smaller clumps, and pot those on or plant them out: they will do far better with room to grow.

Where to grow it

Chives are relaxed about position: they are happy in full sun or partial shade. What matters more is the soil, which wants to be fertile and moisture-retentive but never waterlogged. They make a neat edging plant along a path or bed.

They grow just as well in a container of peat-free multi-purpose compost, which suits a sunny windowsill or a spot by the back door. Plant clumps at least 15cm (6in) apart so each has room to bulk up.

Watering and care

Water newly planted chives during dry spells in their first summer while they settle in. After that, plants in the ground rarely need watering except in an exceptionally long dry spell. Chives in pots are the exception: keep the compost evenly moist through the growing season, as containers dry out fast.

There is not much else to do. Chives die back in winter and there is no need to tidy or feed them heavily; they simply push up fresh leaves again in spring.

Harvesting and the flowers

You can pick chives from late spring right through until they start to die back in autumn. Snip the leaves with scissors just above the base of the clump whenever you need them, which encourages fresh new leaves to come through. Cut in the morning if you can, when the leaves are at their most lush. Chives lose their flavour when cooked, so add them raw at the last moment.

In late spring and summer the clump throws up its purple pompom flowerheads, and these are edible too. Leave some for the bees, then pick a few newly opened heads and scatter the individual florets over salads and soups for a mild oniony note and a bit of colour.

Dividing

A chive clump slowly gets congested, and tired, crowded plants give thinner leaves. Lift and divide them every three or four years, in spring or autumn to keep them vigorous. Dig up the whole clump, pull or cut it apart into smaller sections each with roots and a few bulbs, and replant them straight away at the same depth, watering them in.

Division is also the easiest way to get more plants for free, or to share a bit with a neighbour.

Types to try

Common chives are the ones most people grow, but it is worth knowing a couple of relatives for different flavours:

Common problems

• Leek rust shows as bright orange-yellow spots on the leaves in a damp summer. Cut off badly affected growth, avoid crowding, and the plant usually recovers.
• Aphids and greenfly can gather on the leaves; rub them off or rinse them away with water.
• Waterlogged soil is the main killer, as the bulbs rot in ground that stays wet. Improve drainage or grow in a pot if your soil is heavy.
• Congestion is not a disease, but a clump left undivided for too long gives thin, weak leaves; see the dividing section above.

Frequently asked questions