Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
About it
- Kind
- Herbs · Perennial
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae
- Mature size
- to 15 in × 1 ft
- Blooms
- Apr–May
- Hardiness zones
- Zones 3–9
- Sun
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 8 in apart, rows 12 in
- Soil depth in a pot
- At least 6 in
- Soil pH
- 6–7
- Water
- About every 7 days
When to plant
- Start indoors
- 8 weeks before planting out
- Plant out
- Plant out around the last frost
- Soil temperature
- Germinates from 60°F
- Ready
- About 90 days from planting out
Based on your last frost date. Outside the US, check local advice.
Planting partners
No cited companion planting notes for Chives yet.
Safety for pets and children
- Cats Listed as a problem for cats (NC State Extension)
- Dogs Listed as a problem for dogs (NC State Extension)
- Horses Listed as a problem for horses (NC State Extension)
- Children No information in our sources
If a pet or child eats part of this plant, call your vet or poison control.
Read from NC State Extension ↗.
"No information" means our sources do not say, not that the plant is harmless. A non-toxic listing is not a reason to let anyone eat a plant.
Pests and diseases
No pest or disease notes for Chives yet.
Check the label and your local extension service before using any product.
Where this comes from
Source: NC State Extension ↗
- beginner friendly Clemson HGIC ↗ RHS: "Easy, tasty and decorative"; Clemson: "easy to grow perennial herbs"; a Georgia county agent recommends chives for a first herb garden
- beginner friendly site.extension.uga.edu ↗ RHS: "Easy, tasty and decorative"; Clemson: "easy to grow perennial herbs"; a Georgia county agent recommends chives for a first herb garden
- beginner friendly rhs.org.uk ↗ RHS: "Easy, tasty and decorative"; Clemson: "easy to grow perennial herbs"; a Georgia county agent recommends chives for a first herb garden
- family npgsweb.ars-grin.gov ↗ GRIN page: Allium schoenoprasum L.
- maturity counted from The Old Farmer's Almanac ↗ Chives are started indoors and set out as transplants per the same page; no NC State table covers this 0028-era row
- min soil temp f The Old Farmer's Almanac ↗ Almanac: "the temperature of the soil should be between 60º and 70ºF" for germination; low end
- Most facts NC State Extension ↗ Backfilled by 0041. Pre-0041 rows recorded one source for the whole row; per-field attribution was never captured and is not invented here.
- toxicity NC State Extension ↗ toxic for cat, dog, horse from the page's "Problem for" listing.
- transplant weeks rel last frost The Old Farmer's Almanac ↗ Almanac: "Plant transplants outdoors once the threat of frost has passed"; no number given, so 0 with no window
- water frequency days UMN Extension ↗ UMN "Growing herbs in home gardens": garden herbs, "water deeply once per week; soak the soil to 8 inches." General guidance for herbs, not a figure published for this plant.