Chives

Questions about chives

Does chives need sun or shade?

Chives grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).

It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.

What zones does chives grow in?

USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).

Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.

When does chives flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers mid May to mid June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.

Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.

How far apart should chives be planted?

12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.

It grows 14 in (35 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many chives plants do I need?

At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:

• 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
• 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
• 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).

In the bed above, the planner used five in one group.

Is chives poisonous to dogs and cats?

Yes: moderate toxicity to dogs, cats and horses. Like all onions, it can damage red blood cells in dogs, cats and horses if eaten.

Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.

Is there a pet-safe plant like chives?

These come closest to doing what chives does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:

• Blue-eyed grass: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in narrower, blue, not purple.
• Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei': the same job in a bed; 6 in shorter, flowers late May to early August.
• Pincushion flower 'Butterfly Blue': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers mid May to early October, lavender, not purple.

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

Do deer eat chives?

Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.

Will chives spread?

It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Self-seeds freely. Remove the spent flowers to limit seedlings.

What flowers after chives?

Chives is over by mid June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

• English lavender 'Hidcote': from late June to late July, 18 in tall (a recorded partner).
• Culinary sage: from early June to early July, 24 in tall (a recorded partner).
• Creeping thyme: from early June to mid July, 3 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.

What does chives look like in winter?

Chives dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.

Is chives good for bees and butterflies?

Chives is visited by pollinators.

It is native to the United States and Canada.