Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
[AL-ee-um skoy-no-PRAY-sum]

Deciduous Perennial Clumping-forming in the Amaryllidaceae Family
A classic culinary herb with grass-like leaves and round lavender-pink flower clusters that bees and butterflies love. Easy to grow, edible from leaf to flower, and equally at home in a vegetable bed or a border.
A hardy, clump-forming perennial herb in the onion family, native across a broad swath of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, including northern North America, Europe, and northern Asia. Chives are grown primarily as a culinary herb: both the grass-like, tubular leaves and the round, lavender-pink flower clusters are edible, with a mild onion flavor well suited to salads, soups, and other savory dishes. Planted along paths, borders, or among vegetables, chives also make a useful companion plant, since their scent is thought to help deter pests such as carrot rust fly.

Pros

  • Edible leaves and flowers add a mild onion flavor to salads, soups, and other dishes
  • Attracts bees, butterflies, and other pollinators
  • Deer and rabbit resistant; may help repel pests like carrot rust fly when planted nearby

Cons

  • Can self-seed and spread if flowers are not deadheaded
  • Like all alliums, toxic to cats, dogs, and horses if eaten - keep away from pets
Why Like A genuinely useful, low-fuss herb that earns its keep in both the vegetable patch and the ornamental border: attractive lavender-pink pompom flowers draw in bees and butterflies, the leaves are edible fresh through most of the growing season, and its oniony scent is thought to help keep some garden pests at bay.
 

Plant Data

Mature Size 12 - 18 inches tall. 12 - 18 inches wide.
Growth Rate Moderate
Sun Exposure Partial Shade - Full Sun
Moisture Tolerance Medium : Prefers evenly moist soil; not notably drought tolerant.
Zones 3a - 9a (Usually hardy to -40° F)
Tags Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Pollinators, Attracts Wildlife, Bulbs for Fall Planting, Deciduous, Deer Resistant, Edible Foliage, Edibles, Fragrant Flowers, Fragrant Foliage, Full Sun, Herb, Low Maintenance, Medium, Medium, Non-Allergenic, Partial Shade, Partial Sun, Perennial, Potentially Toxic, Rabbit Resistant, Repel Unwanted Pests, Showy Flowers
Bloom Period April to June
Flower Color Purple
Foliage Color Green
 

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Commonly Planted with...

Cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower (onions repel pests that prey on brassicas). Tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, strawberries (onions repel aphids that love theses plants).
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Pricing and Availability History

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Past Availability
2025 : 02/05 - 05/10
2024 : 02/08 - 05/18
2023 : 04/13 - 06/04


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Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.

Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.


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No Pricing or Availability Right Now

We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.

Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!