Chives
Allium schoenoprasum · Perennial
A hardy perennial allium that regrows all season from repeated cutting. One of the best return-on-effort herbs for a windowsill.
What it needs indoors
- Light
- Full sunAt least 5 hours direct sun, 8 if supplemental
- Water
- Keep moistKeep evenly moist
- Temperature
- 60–70°F
- Growing medium
- Well-draining potting mix
- Native range
- Cool temperate grassland across Europe, Asia and North America
- Difficulty
- Beginner
What usually goes wrong
Every blade has a brown papery tip
Almost always from trimming the tops off with scissors. The cut end dies back and the plant has no way to heal a blade partway along.
Fix: Harvest whole blades at the base, an inch above the soil, working from the outside of the clump inwards. Grassland alliums are built to be grazed to the ground and regrow from there.
Clump gets denser but the new blades come through thin and floppy
Chives multiply into a tight mass of small bulbs, and eventually there is nothing left in the pot for them.
Fix: Tip it out, cut the clump into three or four pieces with a knife, and repot one piece into fresh mix. Give the others away.
Purple flower heads, and the leaves toughen up behind them
Flowering pulls energy out of the foliage and what comes after it is coarser.
Fix: Cut the flower stems off at the base as they appear if the leaves matter more to you. The flowers are edible, so pull them apart over a salad rather than binning them.
Guides that mention chives
Wants the same conditions
Grow these alongside chives and one watering routine will suit them all.