Here's Why You Should Grow Your Own Chives—and How to Grow Them (2024)

If your only experience with chives is buying them at the store, it's time to learn about growing this herb at home.

If you’ve never grown chives before, you’re in for a treat! They are one of the easiest herbs to grow at home, last all season and can be used to garnish and flavor so many dishes.

What Are Chives?

Chives are a relative of onions and leeks, but they’re classified as an herb. (Here’s the difference between chives, scallions and green onions.) Chives have tall, dark green, slender leaves that are hollow inside. The blooms on chive plants are beautiful, pale purple globes made of tiny flower clusters. All parts of the chive plant are edible, though it’s primarily grown for the leaves. Chives have a delicate onion flavor in both the leaves and flowers.

The Difference Between Chives, Scallions and Garlic Chives

Scallions are a different species of allium than chives. They are taller and with larger, lighter green leaves. Some plants that are actually immature onions (green onions) may be referred to as scallions. In either case, these have a much stronger, more intense onion flavor than chives.

Garlic chives look more similar to true chives—dark green leaves and a grass-like appearance, but again are a different species. The leaves of garlic chives are flat and have a flavor that is more garlicky than oniony.

How to Grow Chives

Not only are chives a cinch to start growing, they’re a perennial herb—meaning they will grow in your garden for years! Chives are hardy to grow in zones 3 through 10. One way to grow chives is to divide an existing plant—ask a neighbor or family member if they’ll dig up a few for you. Or you can start chives from seed. The seeds are tiny, the size and color of poppy seeds. Plant them 1/4-inch deep in well-drained soil. You can plant them to grow in a clump or in a tidy row in your vegetable garden.

Chives are an excellent option for herb container gardening, and you can also plant them in your landscape gardens.

When to Harvest Chives

Chives are ready to harvest once they reach six inches in height. Choose stems that are firm with no browning, and snip them using sharp scissors. The plant will regrow leaves all season long, so harvest them often.

When the purple flowers appear in early summer, you have two options: snip them off right away so the plant’s energy will go into growing leaves, or let the flowers stay until they are dry and faded. At this point they are full of seeds (over 100 seeds per flower head).

Snip them off to prevent the seeds from scattering—you can save these seeds to plant next year.

How to Cook with Fresh Chives

The flavor of chives is delicate, so when using the herb in recipes, add them toward the end of cooking time to preserve the flavor. Use scissors to snip chives into fluffy omelets and creamy mashed potatoes. Chives make a beautiful garnish when scattered over steamed vegetables, fresh salads or summery pasta dishes like pasta primavera. Make an herb butter with chives as a savory accompaniment to corn on the cob or hot biscuits. And of course, chives are delicious blended into cream cheese to spread over homemade bagels.

How to Cook with Chive Flowers

Don’t forget about the chive flowers—they’re edible, too! Gently pull the clusters apart, then scatter the tiny flowers over salads and hors d’oeuvres. Or make chive blossom vinegar: Fill a bottle with just-opened chive blossoms, then fill the bottle with white vinegar. After two weeks, strain the vinegar, and use it for vinaigrettes and to finish cooked dishes.

Our Best Recipes with Fresh Chives

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Taste of Home

Party Cheese BreadYou can't go wrong with this cheese bread recipe. The cheesy, butter bread is so simple to make but the taste is sinful. Plus it looks fantastic, and people just flock to it! It's better than the usual garlic bread with pasta, too. —Karen Grant, Tulare, CaliforniaGo to Recipe

Here's my top make-ahead appetizer. They are a lot more nutritious than the ones you get at a restaurant. My three kids are old enough to cook these themselves, right from the freezer. —Marisa Raponi, Vaughan, Ontario

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French Potato SaladFrench potato salad is vinegar-based instead of creamy, made with Dijon mustard, olive oil, scallions or shallots, and fresh herbs. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen

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Buffet Scrambled EggsThese are my favorite scrambled eggs. The white sauce, flavored with chicken bouillon, keeps the eggs creamy and moist. It's a tasty twist on a morning mainstay.

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Growing my own vegetables and herbs helps keep things fresh in the kitchen, but frozen peas make this side is a breeze to prepare. —Tanna Richard, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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Taste of Home

There's plenty of both crunch and cream in these party appetizers. Fresh chives help them really stand out. —Jean McKenzie, Vancouver, Washington

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