Allium schoenoprasum
Everything you need to grow chives in Scotland, from a clump in the border that comes back every year to fresh green snips on your scrambled eggs in March. We have done the research so you don't have to.
Chives are the herb that asks for nothing and gives you something every month of the growing season. They are a hardy perennial. Plant them once and they come back year after year. Cut the leaves 5cm from the base with scissors and they regrow within weeks. The purple flowers in early summer are edible, taste of mild onion, and make any salad look deliberate. A single clump by the kitchen door, or along the edge of a vegetable bed where their onion scent might confuse a carrot fly, is all the chive investment you will ever need to make.
Why chives suit Scotland
Chives are fully hardy and emerge earlier than almost anything else in a Scottish garden. The first green shoots appear in March, before the last frost has cleared, and the plant keeps producing leaves until autumn. A Scottish summer, cool and damp, gives you lush tender leaves rather than tough woody ones. Chives are in the allium family, which means they share the pest list with onions and leeks. A four to five year rotation away from other alliums keeps soil-borne diseases from building up, but a single clump in a border is unlikely to attract serious trouble.
Varieties
None of these carry an Award of Garden Merit. Only common chives and garlic chives are named on RHS's chives page, and neither holds AGM. The standard kitchen chive is the one to grow.
★ Our pick for Scotland
Common chives
Allium schoenoprasum
The standard kitchen chive. Fine hollow leaves with a mild onion flavour. Purple globular flowers in early summer that are edible and excellent for pollinators.
Why this one: Chives earn their place in a Scottish garden by being the first fresh green thing to appear in spring and the last to stop producing in autumn. They are a hardy perennial that needs almost nothing from you — cut them, they grow back. Forget them, they survive. A single clump by the kitchen door provides fresh onion-flavoured leaves from March to November, and the flowers make a salad look like you tried.
Also worth considering
Garlic chives
Allium tuberosum
Flat leaves, 40-50cm tall, white flowers. A garlic flavour rather than onion. Flowers later in summer.
Site and planting
Chives want sun or light shade and well-drained soil. They grow well in the ground, in raised beds, or in pots. A pot 20cm wide on a sunny windowsill gives you fresh chives through winter if you bring it indoors before the first frost.
Plant young plants in spring. Space them 15 to 20cm apart. Firm in and water well. You can also raise chives from seed, sown indoors in early spring or directly outdoors in spring. Sow thinly in small pots of peat-free seed compost and keep at room temperature. Seedlings are slow at first but quickly catch up. A seed-raised plant will be ready to harvest lightly in its first summer and fully from its second year onward.
Care through the season
Water young plants during dry spells while they establish. Once established, chives in the ground rarely need watering except in prolonged drought. Potted chives need regular water through the growing season.
Harvesting: cut the leaves about 5cm from the base with scissors. Never pull them. Harvest from late spring through autumn, cutting regularly to encourage fresh growth. The flavour is best before the plant flowers. After the purple flowers fade, cut the whole clump back to 5cm. A fresh flush of leaves will appear within two weeks.
Dividing: every three to four years in spring, dig up the clump and split it into several pieces. Replant the healthy outer sections and discard the woody centre. This renews the plant and gives you free new clumps for other spots in the garden.
Common problems
- Leek rust appears as orange spots on the leaves in wet summers. Cut affected leaves to the ground and bin them. The plant regrows. Good spacing and airflow reduce the risk.
- Allium leaf miner larvae tunnel through the leaves, leaving white trails. Cover with insect-proof mesh in spring. Less common in Scotland than further south.
- Clumps dying in the centre means the plant is overdue for division. Split it in spring and replant the healthy outer sections.
Common questions
How do I harvest chives to keep them growing?
Cut the leaves about 5cm from the base, using scissors. Never pull them, which damages the roots. The plant will regrow within weeks. Harvest regularly through the growing season. The flavour is at its best before the plant flowers. After flowering, cut the whole clump back to about 5cm and a fresh flush of leaves will appear within a fortnight.
Do chives survive a Scottish winter?
Yes. Chives are fully hardy perennials. The leaves die back in late autumn and the plant is invisible until spring, but the roots are alive underground. In March, green shoots will appear through the soil. A clump in the ground will survive winter after winter without protection. Chives in pots may benefit from being moved to a sheltered spot during the coldest spells.
Why are my chives getting thin and patchy?
Chive clumps need dividing every three to four years. Dig up the whole clump in spring, split it into several smaller pieces with a sharp spade or knife, and replant the healthiest sections. Discard the woody centre. Each divided piece will quickly fill out into a new healthy clump. This is also how you get more chive plants for free.
Are chive flowers edible?
Yes. The purple globular flowers have a mild onion flavour. Pull the individual florets apart and scatter them over salads, soups or scrambled eggs. They look beautiful and taste delicate. Do not use the whole flower head — pick the florets apart first.
Sources
3 sources, and what each was used for
- RHS: perennial habit, sowing and planting windows, 15-20cm spacing, division every 3-4 years, harvest window and indoor extension, named types
- Garden Organic: 0.5cm sowing depth, 10-20 day germination, 25cm final spacing, autumn division, cutting from 15cm tall while leaving 5cm of stem to regrow, and the edible pollinator-friendly flowers
- Teagasc: corroborates buying clumps and planting in early spring, and cutting leaves through summer as required