Herbs
Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
Timings for your region
Suggested: Moderate · Explained in the glossary
Sow outdoorsearly April – late June
Harvestmid April – late October
Practical tip
Perennial and undemanding. Cut it back to the ground after flowering for fresh tender growth, and split the clump every few years.
Origin & history
Chives are one of the few culinary alliums that also grow wild in Europe — on damp mountain meadows and river gravel banks, from the Alps across northern Asia to North America. That makes them the only Allium species native on both sides of the Atlantic. They have been in gardens since the Middle Ages, but compared with onion and garlic they have barely been bred at all.
Varieties
Seed catalogues distinguish fine-tubed from coarse-tubed varieties: the fine ones have thin, delicate stems and a mild flavour, coarse ones such as “Staro” or “Polyvert” yield considerably more and are easier to cut. The supermarket pot is not a bad buy, but it holds a hundred densely sown seedlings — pulled apart and set out in two or three portions it becomes a permanent plant. Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) are a different species, with flat leaves, white flowers and a garlicky taste. Allium seed only stays reliably viable for one or two years, so sow leftovers from last year generously.
Care
Unlike the Mediterranean herbs, chives want moisture and fertile soil — they come from mountain meadows, not from the maquis, and in a pot they dry out within a day in summer. Always cut whole stems about two centimetres above the ground; shortening only the tips leaves yellowing hollow stumps and an increasingly scruffy clump. A little compost in spring is all the feeding they need.
What can go wrong
The commonest nuisance is rust: orange-brown pustules on the stems, usually in warm damp summers and in crowded, over-fed clumps. Cut all affected foliage right down and bin it rather than composting it, give the plant more air, and wait for the regrowth — it usually comes back clean. Supermarket pots collapse after two weeks because far too many plants share far too small a root ball; that is not a pathogen, it is lack of room.
Harvest, storage & kitchen
Chives are never cooked — they go on raw and finely cut once the dish is finished, since heat strips the flavour immediately. Drying is not worth it, but small frozen portions keep a lot; the easiest way to cut them is with scissors straight over the bowl. The purple flower heads are edible and, pulled apart into single florets, make an attractive topping.
All timings are guide values for the given climate, not a guarantee. Weather, aspect and variety all have a say.