How to Grow Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
A no-fuss perennial allium with mild onion flavor and edible purple flowers.
By the Plants by Zone Editorial Team · Reviewed June 1, 2026
About chives
Chives are among the easiest herbs to grow — a clumping perennial allium that pops up early each spring and keeps giving with almost no care. Their slender hollow leaves add a mild onion flavor, and the pretty pom-pom flowers are edible and loved by bees. One clump can be divided to fill a whole border.
When to plant and harvest chives
Timing is relative to your frost dates. Find your USDA zone for exact dates, or browse the month-by-month calendars.
Start seeds indoors
8–10 weeks before last frost
Transplant outdoors
Around last frost
Direct sow
Early spring
Harvest
Spring through fall
Free planting calendar
Put chives on your own planting calendar
Pick your zone, and we'll build a month-by-month sow, transplant & harvest chart with chives already on it — print it or save it as a PDF.
Free · no signup needed
How to grow chives step by step
- 1
Start from seed or, more easily, plant a division from an existing clump.
- 2
Set in sun to light shade in moist, fertile soil.
- 3
Snip leaves with scissors once clumps are established, cutting an inch above the soil.
- 4
Let some flowers bloom for the bees, then shear spent blooms to prevent heavy self-seeding.
- 5
Divide clumps every 2–3 years in spring to keep them vigorous.
- 6
Pot up a clump in fall to grow on a windowsill through winter.
Common problems growing chives
⚠ Clumps get crowded and weak
Divide every 2–3 years in spring, replanting the healthy outer sections.
⚠ Aggressive self-seeding
Shear off the flower heads after blooming before the seeds drop.
⚠ Tips browning in summer
Usually heat or dryness — shear the clump back and it flushes fresh, tender new leaves.
✓ Good companions for chives
✗ Keep away from
🧺 Harvesting chives
Snip whole leaves at the base with scissors rather than just the tips, and the clump keeps producing all season. Cutting a clump right back even spurs a fresh flush of tender new growth — and the purple flowers are edible too.
Chives: frequently asked questions
When should you plant chives?＋
In most regions you start seeds indoors 8–10 weeks before last frost, then transplant around last frost — or direct sow early spring. Timing is relative to your last frost, so find your USDA hardiness zone for the exact planting dates where you live.
Do chives come back every year?＋
Yes — chives are a hardy perennial that returns reliably each spring, often one of the first edibles up in the garden.
Can you eat chive flowers?＋
Absolutely — the purple pom-pom blooms are edible with a mild oniony bite, lovely scattered over salads. Shear spent flowers to limit self-seeding.
Sources & review
Written and maintained by the Plants by Zone Editorial Team. Planting times are based on USDA hardiness zones and NOAA frost-date normals, with care guidance drawn from Cooperative Extension sources. Last reviewed June 1, 2026.
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone MapNOAA U.S. climate normalsCooperative Extension
Grow chives in your zone
See exactly when to plant and what else to grow alongside chives, tailored to your USDA hardiness zone.
