Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
Amaryllidaceae · onion family
Origin · temperate Europe · East Asia · North America
- Matures
- 1–2 months
- Harvest
- Continuous · Perennial
- Sun
- 4–8+ hrs
- Spacing
- 6–12 in
Planting window
When to sow, by microclimate — foggier blocks run a different calendar than sunnier ones.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foggy | ◐ | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● |
| Sunny | ◐ | ● | ● | ● | ● | ◐ |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foggy | ● | ● | ● | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
| Sunny | ◐ | ◐ | ● | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
Sunlight
How well it does at each level of direct sun per day.
Soil depth
Root room it needs — useful for sizing raised beds and containers.
Soil pH
The soil acidity it grows best in — most crops sit just below neutral, so this mostly matters for heavily amended or long-reused beds.
- Preferred range
- pH 6.2–6.8
Spacing
Room each plant needs — along the row and between rows — for sizing beds.
- In-row
- 6–12 in
- Between rows
- 6–12 in
Growth habit
The shape it makes in the bed and how tall it gets — what tells you whether to give it a trellis, a stake, or just room.
- Habit
- Low mound
- Mature height
- 8–10 in
Low and self-supporting — no staking needed.
Growing in containers
Whether it does well in a pot, planter, or window box — the SF balcony-and-deck question, weighing its footprint, form, and staying power, not just root depth.
Happy in a pot, planter, or window box — no garden bed required.
How to start it
Sow it where it grows, or raise it under cover and set it out — and how far ahead to start the seedlings if it's the latter.
- Usually
- Transplant
Goes in as a rooted start, cutting, or division rather than raised from seed.
Getting started
How it goes in the ground — how deep to sow or set it, and the soil temperature it needs to wake up. The cold-soil floor is the real limiter for direct-sowing in a foggy SF spring.
- Started from
- From seed
- Ideal soil temp
- 50°F
- Sow depth
- 0.25 in
- Time to emerge
- 7–14 days
Germinates between 50–60°F; happiest around 50°F.
Watering & feeding
How thirsty and how hungry it is — the water it wants and how much feeding the bed needs to keep it producing. In the fog belt even a thirsty crop drinks less than it would inland.
- Water need
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Wants steady, even moisture — roughly an inch a week, a little more in a heat spell.
A balanced feed worked into the bed at planting usually carries it through the season.
Water regularly through growth for the best cut; chives take brief dry spells but slow down. A moderate feeder.
Pests & diseases
What tends to trouble this crop — what it is, what you'll see, and what to do about it, least-toxic first.
Pests2
Thrips
- What it is
- Most adult thrips are elongate, slender, minute (less than 1/20 inch long), and have long fringes on the margins of both pairs of their long, narrow wings. Immatures (called larvae or nymphs) are oblong or slender and elongate and lack wings.
- What you'll see
- Thrips feeding on plants can damage fruit, leaves, and shoots and very noticeably affect plants’ cosmetic appearance. However, thrips rarely kill or threaten the survival of trees and shrubs.
- What to do
- Thrips species that feed on many different plant species often move into gardens and landscapes when plants in weedy areas or grasslands begin to dry in spring or summer. Avoid planting susceptible plants next to these areas, and control nearby weeds that are alternate hosts of pest thrips.
Root Maggot
- What you'll see
- White worm that feeds on seedlings, roots or bulbs.
- What to do
- Apply appropriate insecticides at planting if pest occurred in the past.
Diseases2
Pink Root
- What you'll see
- Fungal disease that changes roots to a pink color. Roots eventually die and yields are severely reduced
- What to do
- Use long crop rotation and solarize the soil where onions are planted.
Downey Mildew
- What you'll see
- Fungal disease that turns leaves a light tan to brown color. Furry growth, grayish violet in color, may be visible on the surface of infected leaves during moist periods.
- What to do
- Cultural practices that facilitate air movement and drying of leaves will reduce disease severity. Registered fungicides may be used.
Harvest & storage
How to tell it's ready to pick, and how to keep it once it's in.
- Keeps
- DaysBest eaten within a few days of picking.
- Ready to harvest
- Snip leaves with scissors down to 1-2 in above the soil, once the clump is established; cut several times a season.
- Storing
- Refrigerate the cut leaves and use fresh within a few days; they also dry for a cool, dry pantry.
Culinary use & nutrition
What it's for in the kitchen, and the nutrients a 100 g raw serving is a notable source of.
In the kitchen
- Seasoning
Nutrition highlights
- Excellent source
- Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Folate, Vitamin A
- Good source
- Copper, Manganese, Magnesium
Share of the Daily Value in a 100 g raw serving (USDA FoodData Central).
Pollinators & wildlife
What this crop offers the garden's wildlife once it flowers — often the payoff for letting a bolting plant stand.
- Bees
- Honeybees and natives — bumble, mason, and sweat bees — working the flowers for pollen and nectar.
- Beneficial insects
- Hoverflies, lady beetles, and parasitoid wasps that keep aphids and caterpillars down.
The one allium that flowers whether you plan it or not: left to flower, the mauve pompom umbels feed bees and short-tongued hoverflies for weeks.
Sources
Growing data on this page is drawn from Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Utah State University Extension, and the other references on our sources page.