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Chives sprite
HerbsHardyPerennial (long-lived)

Chives

Chives are clump-forming perennial alliums grown for slender onion-flavoured leaves, edible flowers and neat ornamental habit. They fit easily into vegetable beds, herb patches and containers, and provide harvests over a long period with little fuss.

Basic information

Category
Herbs
Lifecycle
Perennial (long-lived)
Hardiness
Hardy
Planting partners
13 companions · 0 crops to avoid

Growth profile

Days to harvest
60 days
Germination window
10–14 days
Germination temperature
15–20 °C
Plant spacing
15 cm
Row spacing
30 cm
Sowing depth
0.5 cm
Height
30 cm
Spread
15 cm

Calendar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sow Indoors
Sow Outdoors
Plant Out
Flowering / Harvest
Timings based on average frost dates in the UK. Sign up to set your frost dates.

Care tips

Cut leaves regularly to keep the plant producing fresh tender growth, and divide congested clumps when vigour begins to decline. Remove faded flower heads if you do not want self-seeding, or leave some for pollinators and edible decoration.

Common pests

Aphids, rust, onion fly, slugs.

Companions

Apple spriteApple
B
BlackcurrantCarrot spriteCarrotCherry spriteCherry
G
GooseberryLettuce spriteLettucePear spritePear
P
PlumQuince spriteQuince
R
Raspberry
R
RedcurrantStrawberry spriteStrawberryTomato spriteTomato

Don’t grow with

No crops to avoid have been added yet.