Garlic chives

Questions about garlic chives

Does garlic chives need sun or shade?

Garlic 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 garlic 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 garlic chives flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers late August to mid September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.

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 garlic 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 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many garlic 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 a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.

In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.

Is garlic chives poisonous to dogs and cats?

Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. Like all onions, it can damage red blood cells in dogs, cats and horses if eaten. It is safe for people in kitchen amounts; eaten in quantity it can upset the stomach.

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

Is there a pet-safe plant like garlic chives?

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

• Balloon flower: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in taller, flowers early July to mid August.
• Pearly everlasting: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in taller, 6 in wider.
• Crocosmia 'Emily McKenzie': the same job in a bed; 4 in taller, flowers early August to mid September.

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

Do deer eat garlic chives?

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

Will garlic chives spread?

It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is high. Self-seeds very heavily and the seedlings are hard to pull. Cut the flower heads as soon as they fade.

What flowers after garlic chives?

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

• Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
• October daphne: from mid September to late October, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
• Meadow saffron: from mid September to mid October, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.

What does garlic chives look like in winter?

Garlic 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 garlic chives good for bees and butterflies?

Garlic chives is visited by pollinators.