Herb · Amaryllidaceae
Garlic Chives
Allium tuberosum
Cut them again and again all season, and garlic chives push up fresh flat, garlic-scented leaves.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
80–90 days
USDA 4–9
Overview
Garlic chives grow as a dense clump of narrow, flat blades that lie almost strap-like rather than round and hollow, and a bruised leaf releases a mild garlic scent instead of the sharp onion smell of common chives. The plant belongs to the onion family and comes from eastern Asia, where it has fed kitchens for centuries under names like Chinese chives, Chinese leek, and nira. In late summer, slim stalks lift white, star-shaped flowers above the foliage, each one small, pale, and sweetly fragrant to the pollinators that crowd them.
For all the delicacy of those blades, the plant is tough at the root. The clump holds through cold to -22°F (-30°C), keeps its green through summer heat, and asks little once it has taken hold. Cut a handful of leaves low and new flat blades push straight up from the crown to fill the gap.
The habit to watch shows in those flower heads. Left standing, the white stars dry, split, and scatter seed freely, and fine grassy seedlings appear well past the clump. Snip the heads off before the seed ripens and the tidy fan of blades stays where it was planted.
Care
The short version: full sun and fertile, well-drained soil kept evenly moist raise the most tender, flavorful blades. Shear the clump for fresh flat leaves, divide the crowded bulblets every few years, and deadhead the white flowers before they seed.
Light
Under full sun the flat blades come up stocky and deeply green, thick with garlic flavor. In partial shade they still grow, but the leaves stretch thinner and turn a shade softer to the touch.
Water
Soil kept evenly moist produces the most tender blades, which usually means a drink every 5 to 10 days depending on weather and soil. A settled clump rides out a short dry spell, but under real drought the leaves grow tough and stringy and the flavor thins.
Soil
The clump roots best in fertile, well-drained loam dark with organic matter. A pH between 6.0 and 7.0 suits it, right around neutral.
Temperature
Little about these slender blades hints at how hardy the plant is. Garlic chives push through winter cold to -22°F (-30°C) and hold their green in heat to about 95°F (35°C), so the same crown greens up again each year.
Humidity
Plain outdoor air, somewhere around 40% to 60%, is all the foliage asks. Moving air matters more than any moisture reading, since it dries the blades and keeps the orange dusting of rust from taking hold.
Feeding
A feed through spring and summer with a balanced or nitrogen-leaning fertilizer keeps fresh flat blades coming. One seasonal feeding carries a clump growing in decent ground.
Pruning
Cut the blades to about 2 to 3 cm above the crown as needed, and shearing the whole fan brings up fresh, tender leaves from the base. The spent white flower heads come off promptly, or their seed scatters across the bed.
Repotting
This plant is divided rather than repotted. Every 2 to 3 years, a congested clump lifts and splits once the center packs into a tight mat of bulblets, the blades thin, and production falls.
Size & spacing
Each clump stands 12 to 20 inches (30 to 50 cm) tall in a fan of blades and spreads 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) across. That much room lets air slip between the leaves, and rust finds less purchase.
When to plant
Garlic chives are forgiving about timing. Seed can go in indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost or straight into spring soil, and transplants set out once hard frost has passed. The flat blades cut all season, and the white star-shaped flowers of late summer are best snipped off before they ripen seed.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6-8 weeks before the last spring frost
- Plant: Spring, after danger of hard frost has passed
- Harvest: Snip leaves through the growing season; fragrant white star-shaped flowers appear in late summer (deadhead before seed set to prevent aggressive self-seeding)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Garlic chives stay healthy through most seasons, and the few troubles that appear write themselves plainly on the plant. Nearly all of them show on the flat green blades or in an aging, congested clump. Match the look below and step in early, before it spreads.
Flat blades etched with silvery trails and washed-out flecks
The flat green blades take on a pale, pinpricked stippling and silvery streaks, and their edges twist out of true. That look is the mark of onion thrips, slender insects that rasp the surface and drink the sap, and they swarm in hot, dry weather. A hard jet of water knocks them loose, insecticidal soap clears the rest, and the worst-scarred leaves come away at the base.
Fix:
- Spray foliage with a strong jet of water to dislodge thrips
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to affected plants
- Remove heavily infested leaves
Powdery orange bumps studding the green blades
Small raised pustules, orange shading toward rust, break out across the green blades and leave a powdery orange smear on any finger that touches them. This is allium rust, a fungus that settles in when the clump grows dense and the leaves hold moisture too long. The speckled leaves come off and go in the bin, thinning or dividing opens the clump to the air, and water goes to the roots rather than the foliage.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected leaves
- Improve air circulation by thinning and dividing clumps
- Avoid overhead watering
A haze of fine grassy sprouts crowding past the clump
Fine, grass-like seedlings prick up through the soil in a widening ring around the clump and well past it. Garlic chives shed seed with abandon once the white flower heads dry and split. The young threads pull free or hoe away while small, and cutting the flowers before the seed matures shuts off the source.
Fix:
- Pull or hoe unwanted seedlings while young
- Remove flower heads before seed matures and disperses
Woody, leafless core at the heart of an old clump
The heart of an old clump goes bare and woody while a dense mat of bulblets rings the outside, all of them crowded and starved as they fight for the same water and food. Lifted in spring or early fall, the clump splits cleanly into pieces, and the firm, healthy outer divisions go back in the ground with space around each one.
Fix:
- Lift and divide the clump in spring or early fall
- Replant healthy divisions with adequate spacing
Toxicity
The same plant reads very differently to a person and to an animal. Garlic chives are a safe, tasty herb for people, but as an Allium they are toxic to cats, dogs, horses, and other animals. The organosulfur compounds packed into every blade and bulblet damage red blood cells and can cause hemolytic anemia, with cats the most sensitive of all. Keep the plants, the cut blades, and the trimmings well out of reach of pets and livestock.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Severe
Cats are the most sensitive of all, and even a small nibble on the flat blades can do real harm. Vomiting, weakness, and pale gums come first, then red or brown urine, quick breathing, and collapse as the red blood cells break down.
Dogs Moderate
A dog that chews the leaves vomits and scours first. Over the next day or two the same blood damage shows as lethargy, pale gums, and rust-colored urine.
Horses Toxic
Horses are highly sensitive to alliums, and the same organosulfur compounds attack their red blood cells. Repeated grazing brings weakness, a dull coat, dark urine, and the pale gums of anemia.
Rabbits Toxic
A rabbit should never be given so much as a leaf. The thiosulfates that harm other animals damage a rabbit's blood cells the same way, so it has no place as a green or a treat.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, sheep, and goats are all poisoned where alliums grow within reach. Steady grazing brings anemia, weakness, reluctance to move, and discolored urine.
Birds Toxic
Birds are vulnerable to allium poisoning as well, their blood cells taking the same oxidative hit. Even a modest amount can bring weakness, breathing trouble, and a fading appetite, so clippings stay away from poultry and pet birds.
People Edible
For healthy people the plant is a kitchen staple, eaten raw or cooked with no trouble. The flat leaves, the tight buds, and the white flowers all go into stir-fries and dumplings.
Keep plants, trimmings, and harvested leaves out of reach of pets; do not feed any part to animals and dispose of clippings securely.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
United Kingdom
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 (fee applies)
Australia
Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738
Varieties
Most garlic chives sold are the plain species, but a couple of selections stand out by the width and tenderness of their blades if you grow them to cook with.
'Geisha'
Its blades come broader and more tender than the plain species, carrying a fuller garlic flavor that suits the kitchen.
Broad-leaf types (mauershan / da ye)
These bear noticeably wider, flatter leaves prized in Asian cooking, and they hold up well in a stir-fry.
Companions
Garlic chives sit awkwardly next to legumes, since alliums tend to hold back their growth.
Keep apart
Beans: Alliums can inhibit the growth of beans
Peas: Alliums can inhibit the growth of peas
How to propagate
Two easy methods build more garlic chives, and both suit a beginner. Division splits the knot of bulblets into instant new plants, while seed drops fine grassy sprouts if the wait is no trouble.
DivisionEasy
Spring or early fall · 4-6 weeks
Division is the quickest route to more plants, worked in spring or early fall. The clump lifts out as a dense knot of small white bulblets, teases apart into sections of several bulblets each, and goes straight back in the ground with room to spread. Each new division roots and settles in about 4 to 6 weeks.
SeedEasy
Start indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost or sow outdoors in spring · 2-3 weeks to germinate; one to two seasons to a harvestable clump
Seed is easy but slower. It starts indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost, or sows straight into the spring soil, and the first thin grassy sprouts break through in 2 to 3 weeks. A full clump thick enough to cut from takes one to two seasons. The plant self-sows freely, so deadheading the flowers keeps it in place.
Myths
Anything this mild on the plate must be just as gentle on pets.
Mild on your plate says nothing about safety for animals. As an Allium, garlic chives are toxic to cats and dogs, and even small or repeated amounts damage red blood cells. The same flat, garlic-scented leaves that flavor your dinner can cause hemolytic anemia in a pet.
Flat-leaved garlic chives are simply common chives in a different guise.
They look enough alike to confuse, but they are two different species. Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) carry flat, garlic-flavored leaves and white flowers, while common chives (Allium schoenoprasum) have hollow, onion-flavored leaves and purple blooms.