Chives in Zone 9 -- plant

Subzone	Last spring	First fall	Growing days	Winter min	Fruits reliably
9a	Mar 8	Nov 24	~261	20-25°F	Yes · two seasons
9b	Feb 28	Nov 30	~275	25-30°F	Yes · two seasons

In a pot

Yes, 1 gallon and up

Chives are one of the best herbs for a pot. Use a container at least 6 inches deep with drainage holes, keep it watered, and snip leaves as you need them. A pot does well on a sunny windowsill or step, and because chives are so hardy it can carry on outdoors long after tender herbs are done.Chives grow very well in a container at least 6 inches deep, harvested cut-and-come-again. Keep moisture even, since pots dry fast, and feed only lightly. A pot is the easiest way to keep chives by the kitchen door, to move a small clump indoors for winter cutting, and to contain a plant that self-sows in the open garden.

Pot size: 1 gallon and up
Mature size: 12 to 18 inches tall, 12 to 17 inches wide
Drainage: Drainage holes are a must. Skip the gravel layer. Empty the saucer after watering so the roots never sit in water, which invites crown and root rot.
Watering: Pots dry out faster than the ground, so check every day or two in warm weather and keep the mix evenly moist.Containers dry faster than beds; check moisture every day or two in warmth and water deeply before the mix dries out.
Depth and shape: At least 6 inches deep. Chives have a shallow, fibrous root system and do not need depth; a pot 6 inches or deeper is plenty, and extra width lets the clump widen and lets you grow more to cut from.
Self-watering pot: Yes. A self-watering container suits chives well, smoothing out the steady moisture that keeps the leaves tender over a long cutting season.
Mix: A light, well-drained potting mix with some organic matter. Blend in compost; chives are light feeders, so no heavy starter fertilizer is needed.
Feeding: Container chives need only a light feed, a dilute liquid fertilizer every four to six weeks, because frequent watering leaches the limited mix.

One to try

Common ChivesThe standard Allium schoenoprasum. It grows in clumps of fine, hollow, grass-like leaves about 1 to 1.5 feet tall. Its edible flowers are round, pink to pale purple globes that bloom in late spring to early summer. The leaves have a mild onion flavor, and the plant is hardy.

3 more compact types

StaroA thicker-leaved Swiss selection bred for uniform, upright, easily cut blades that hold their form; prized for kitchen cutting and for freezing, since the sturdier leaves handle handling well.

Fine Leaf

Garlic Chives

Winter

Chives are very hardy, so a pot can stay outside through fall and winter in most areas; the leaves die back and the plant regrows in spring. In the coldest zones the small amount of soil in a pot freezes harder than the ground, so sink the pot in the garden, move it against the house, or mulch it heavily. You can also dig up a small clump in fall, pot it, and grow it on a bright windowsill for winter snipping.Chives are frost-hardy to roughly zone 3 and go dormant over winter, so an outdoor pot simply dies back and returns in spring. Container root volume freezes harder than open ground, so in cold zones sink the pot, cluster pots against a wall, or mulch to buffer the roots. A classic trick is to lift a small divided clump in fall, pot it, give it a few weeks of cold to satisfy dormancy, then bring it to a sunny window for fresh winter leaves.

Pot safety

Ask what your balcony or roof can carry

A balcony or roof can only hold so much weight. Before you set heavy pots there, ask a building architect what it can safely carry.Illinois Extension's guidance is to consult a building architect about weight limits before placing heavy pots on a balcony or rooftop garden. It gives no weight figure.

Never grow food in a container with anything toxic in it

Many kinds of containers can be used. Whatever you choose, keep anything toxic out of it, especially if you are growing food.Colorado State accepts nearly any container material but warns against using a container that holds toxic materials, especially for edible plants. Illinois adds that a vegetable container should be free of chemicals toxic to plants or people, and urges caution with treated lumber when growing food. If you cannot account for what a repurposed container once held, that alone is a reason to keep food out of it.

Secure hanging containers well

Fasten hanging baskets and window or rail boxes securely. Think about what is below them too, since they can drip on people or things underneath.Illinois Extension asks growers to secure hanging containers well and to think through the safety issues of hanging them. Placement matters too, since a hanging container can drip onto people or belongings below.

Soil chemistry

Soil pH for chives

Preferred

6 to 7

Tolerated

5.5 to 7.5

Chives grow best in slightly acidic to neutral soil, about 6.0 to 7.0. Most garden soil is fine, and a simple soil test tells you where you stand.Aim for a soil pH of about 6.0 to 7.0, slightly acidic to neutral, the range the University of Minnesota and Michigan State both list as best for chives; they still do fine across roughly 5.5 to 7.5. Chives are not pH-sensitive, so in most gardens no adjustment is needed beyond a soil-test baseline.

Verified · 2 sources View

Steady hand on the hose

Watering

When & how much

Frequency

Water about once a week so the soil stays evenly moist, roughly 1 inch a week. Established chives handle a dry spell, but even water keeps the leaves tender.About 1 inch of water per week, kept even; chives are drought tolerant once the clump is established, but steady moisture keeps the leaves tender and green over the long cutting season. Do not let established plants sit in constantly wet soil.

Amount

Aim for about 1 inch of water a week, a bit more when it is hot and dry. Mulch helps keep the soil evenly moist.Roughly 1 inch per week, more in hot, dry spells; the University of Minnesota advises watering deeply when rainfall is sparse so the soil does not dry out around the roots. A mulch helps hold even moisture for a clump you cut from for years.

Method

Water at the base of the plants rather than over the leaves, which helps prevent leaf diseases.Water at the soil line with drip or a soaker hose; keeping the foliage dry checks the leaf diseases (downy mildew, rust, botrytis) chives can catch in cool, wet, crowded conditions.

Signs of trouble

Too much water

Leaves go yellow and floppy and the base can rot in soggy soil, especially over winter.Yellowing, floppy foliage and crown or root rot in constantly wet, poorly drained ground, especially over winter; downy mildew and botrytis also flare in cool, saturated, crowded conditions.

Too little water

Wilting leaves that taste sharper and tougher, and slowed growth when the soil dries out for too long.Wilting, slowed growth, and tougher, sharper foliage in prolonged drought; established clumps recover quickly once watered, but a dry, hot spell can push them toward summer dormancy.

Feeding rhythm

Feeding

Frequency

light, once or twice per season

Type

Balanced or low-nitrogen fertilizer

When to start

compost worked in before planting, then an optional light feeding in spring or after a heavy cutting

Chives do not need much feeding. Mix some compost into the soil before planting, and that is often enough. If a clump looks weak or you cut it hard, give it a light feeding to bring back fresh green leaves. In a pot, feed lightly with a diluted liquid fertilizer every few weeks, since watering washes nutrients out.Chives are light feeders with low nutrient needs and rarely need regular fertilizer. The University of Minnesota suggests only a very light application of a 5-10-5 fertilizer once each spring if a clump looks weak, on top of compost worked in before planting. A clump you cut from repeatedly benefits from a light feeding after a hard shearing to push fresh tender regrowth; in containers, where frequent watering leaches nutrients, a dilute liquid feed every four to six weeks keeps leaves green. Avoid heavy nitrogen, which softens the flavor.

N · P · K = 5-10-5

Use a balanced fertilizer such as 5-10-5, a little worked into the soil before planting, then feed lightly only if the plant looks weak or after you cut it hard.Light, balanced feeding for a low-demand perennial: a little 5-10-5 or balanced fertilizer worked in before planting, then an optional light feed in spring or after a hard cutting. Go easy on nitrogen, which softens flavor on a crop eaten fresh.

Try 5-10-5 or a balanced vegetable fertilizer, or fish emulsion for a gentle boost

Who grows well together

Companion planting

Chives are a classic companion herb: their oniony scent is said to help keep aphids and some other pests off nearby plants, and their early flowers feed pollinators and helpful insects. Gardeners traditionally tuck them at the base of roses (for black spot and aphids) and apple trees (for scab), and near carrots and tomatoes. The one plant to keep them away from is beans and peas, which onion-family plants can slow down. Much of the chive companion tradition rests on two real mechanisms: allium sulfur compounds that deter aphids and some fungal problems, and the flowering umbels' pull on hoverflies, ladybugs, and parasitoid wasps. Michigan State, citing Penn State, passes along the traditional pairings of chives at the base of apple trees (to help suppress apple scab) and roses (black spot), plus a reputed boost to carrots. These are hedged tradition with a plausible mechanism, not measured trials. The one well-grounded caution is the allium-legume antagonism: onions and their relatives are widely documented to inhibit beans and peas, so keep chives away from legumes.

Other

Roses

Chives planted around roses are a traditional pairing said to help keep aphids away and reduce black spot, and their early flowers bring in helpful insects.A traditional aromatic-companion pairing: chives are long grown at the base of roses to deter aphids and reduce black spot, with allium sulfur volatiles the plausible mechanism. MSU relays it from Penn State as tradition, not a measured effect. Traditional

Apple trees

Chives grown at the base of an apple tree are traditionally said to help prevent apple scab.A traditional orchard pairing relayed by MSU (citing Penn State): chives ringing an apple trunk are said to help suppress apple scab. Folklore with an antifungal-allium rationale, not a documented trial. Traditional

Carrots and tomatoes

Chives are a traditional good neighbor for carrots and tomatoes; their scent is said to help keep pests down, and they take up little room.A traditional aromatic interplant: chives are said to improve carrots and to help repel pests around tomatoes, tucking neatly into small gaps. Widely taught tradition with an aromatic-deterrent rationale, not a measured pairwise effect. Traditional

Keep apart from

Beans and peas Keep chives away from beans and peas. Onion-family plants tend to slow the growth of legumes when grown close together.A well-grounded antagonism: alliums, chives included, inhibit the growth of beans and peas, so they should not be interplanted. Documented extension guidance for onions and their relatives, not folklore. Traditional

Provenance tagged inline · see methodology for the labeling system Key

Harvest signals

When to pick

You can start cutting chives once the clump is about 6 inches tall. From seed that takes a couple of months, but a bought or divided plant is ready much sooner. Snip the leaves down to about 1 to 2 inches above the soil, taking some from each clump, and they grow right back so you can keep cutting all season. Always leave some green behind so the plant stays healthy, and go easy the first year. Cut in the cool morning and use the leaves fresh. The flowers are edible too.Start cutting chives once an established clump is 6 inches or more tall, which from seed is roughly 60 to 90 days but from a division or nursery clump can be just a few weeks. Harvest by shearing the outer leaves down to about 1 to 2 inches above the soil with scissors, taking some blades from each clump rather than shearing it bare; the leaves regrow and you can cut the same plant again and again through the season. Leave enough green so the plant keeps feeding itself, and in the first year cut sparingly so the young clump can build strength to overwinter. Pick in the cool morning, and use the leaves fresh for the best flavor. The pink-purple flowers are edible too and are best picked just as they open.

Verified · 3 sources View

Yield

What to expect

One chive clump gives you leaves for years and only gets bigger, so a plant or two is plenty for a kitchen. You can split a big clump into several new ones for free.A single established chive clump yields fresh leaves for years, cut repeatedly through each season; one clump supplies a kitchen, and it multiplies into many as you divide it. Yield builds as the clump widens, so a two- or three-year-old plant gives far more than a first-year one.

Chives are most productive in cool spring and fall weather. In cold areas they keep going through summer; in hot areas they slow down in the worst heat and pick back up when it cools.Production peaks in the cool of spring and again in fall. In cold regions chives run through the northern summer; in hot regions they slow or rest in peak heat and rebound as it cools. Cutting the clump back after flowering renews a flush of tender leaves. In its first year, go easy on cutting chives so the plant gets strong for winter; the big harvests come in later years. Cut low, not just the tips, and snip off flowers before they seed so you do not get seedlings everywhere.Chives are a rewarding, low-effort perennial, but the first year is about establishment: harvest sparingly so the young clump banks strength to overwinter, and expect the big yields from year two on. The main beginner mistakes are over-cutting a new clump, shearing only the tips instead of cutting low, and letting the flowers seed a lawn of volunteers.

What changes yield

Age and division: a clump yields more as it widens, and dividing every 2 to 3 years keeps it vigorous and prevents a dead, hollow center.Harvest method: shearing low (to 1 to 2 inches), not tipping, keeps leaves tender and pushes fresh regrowth and bulblets.Cool weather and even moisture: chives crop hardest in the cool of spring and fall and with steady water; extreme heat slows them.Post-bloom shearing: cutting the whole clump back after flowering renews a flush of tender leaves and prevents self-seeding.Type: common chives for onion flavor and fine leaves; garlic chives for garlic flavor and greater heat and drought tolerance.

Verified · 2 sources View

Pick your variety

Recommended varieties

There are really two kinds. Common chives have thin, hollow leaves and pink-purple flowers and taste mildly of onion; the named types just vary in how fine or sturdy the leaves are. Garlic chives are a different plant with flat leaves, a mild garlic taste, and white flowers in late summer, and they take heat well but spread by seed a lot. They all grow the same way, so pick by flavor and looks, and cut off the flowers if you do not want seedlings everywhere.Chives come in two distinct plants. Common chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are the familiar fine, hollow-leaved clump with pink-purple spring flowers and a mild onion taste; named selections differ mostly in leaf fineness and vigor, from the slender Fine Leaf and Grolau strains favored for pots and forcing, to the thick, easy-cutting Staro, to taller showy-flowered Forescate. Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) are a separate species with flat leaves, a garlic flavor, and white late-summer flowers; they are tougher in heat and drought but self-sow aggressively. All are grown much the same way, so choice comes down to flavor (onion versus garlic), leaf form, and how much you value the flowers, while any chive self-seeds if you let the blooms set seed.

Common Chives

The standard Allium schoenoprasum. It grows in clumps of fine, hollow, grass-like leaves about 1 to 1.5 feet tall. Its edible flowers are round, pink to pale purple globes that bloom in late spring to early summer. The leaves have a mild onion flavor, and the plant is hardy.

Fine Leaf (Grolau types)

Selections with especially fine, slender, dark green leaves and vigorous regrowth; a favorite for forcing and for growing in pots on a windowsill because it recovers quickly from cutting.

Staro

A thicker-leaved Swiss selection bred for uniform, upright, easily cut blades that hold their form; prized for kitchen cutting and for freezing, since the sturdier leaves handle handling well.

Forescate

A taller ornamental-leaning selection, roughly 18 to 20 inches, with showy rosy-pink flowers; grown as much for the bloom and pollinators as for the kitchen.

Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum)

A distinct species, not a variety of common chives: flat, strap-like gray-green leaves with a mild garlic flavor and white star-shaped flowers in late summer to early fall. Hardy in roughly zones 3 to 9 and very heat, cold, and drought tolerant once established, but it self-seeds prolifically and can become weedy, so remove spent flower stalks.

Off the vine

Storing your harvest

Room temp

Do not leave cut chives out on the counter, where they wilt fast. Chill them and use them soon after cutting.Fresh chives wilt quickly at room temperature, so refrigerate promptly after cutting; the leaves lose their delicate onion aroma fast once cut, so use them soon.

Fridge

Store fresh chives unwashed in a loose bag in the fridge, where they keep about a week. Wash them only when you are ready to use them.Refrigerate fresh chives unwashed in a loose or perforated bag, or wrapped in a slightly damp paper towel, in the crisper; they hold about 1 week. Wash only at use, since trapped moisture speeds breakdown.

Freezer

Chives are best frozen rather than dried. Chop the clean leaves and freeze them loose or in an ice-cube tray with a little water, then use them straight from the freezer without thawing. Drying works but loses most of the flavor.Chives freeze better than they dry: snip the washed leaves and freeze them loose or in ice-cube trays with a little water; the University of Minnesota notes you can use the frozen pieces straight from the freezer without thawing. Drying is the weakest option, since dried chives lose most of their delicate flavor, so freezing is preferred for keeping.

Verified · 2 sources View

From the garden to the kitchen

Recipes to try

BBQ & Grill

Grilled Corn with Herb Compound Butter

BBQ & Grill · 25m · Serves 4

BBQ & Grill

Herb Butter Grilled Chicken

BBQ & Grill · 50m · Serves 4

Sides & Snacks

Zucchini Fritters with Yogurt

Sides & Snacks · 25m · Serves 4

More recipes

arriving with the harvest

When something goes wrong

Common problems

01 of 05

What happened Your chive seed came up thin, very late, or not at all. Chive seed is slow by nature, often 2 to 3 weeks or more, and does poorly in cold, dry soil. Next time, keep the surface moist, use fresh seed, and wait longer, or just start with a division or a nursery pot, which is much faster.Stand was thin, delayed, or failed. Chive germination is intrinsically slow (2 to 3 weeks, up to 4 to 6 in cool soil) and is inhibited by cold, dry, or crusted soil. Next time sow into warm, evenly moist soil, keep the surface from crusting, use fresh viable seed, and allow the full window, or bypass seed with a division or nursery clump. Next season Keep the surface moist, use fresh seed, be patient, or plant a division instead of seed.Sow into warm moist soil, keep the surface from crusting, use fresh seed and the full window, or establish from divisions.

02 of 05

What happened Your chives sent up flower stalks and the leaves got tough and hollow. That is normal: chives flower in late spring or early summer. Next time, enjoy some flowers, then cut the whole clump back to about 1 to 2 inches to bring back fresh, tender leaves and to stop it from seeding everywhere.The clump bolted into flower scapes and the surrounding foliage coarsened and turned hollow. This is the normal late-spring to early-summer bloom of a perennial allium, not a heat or care failure. Next time harvest some flowers, then shear the clump hard (to 1 to 2 inches) to remove scapes before seed set and force a fresh flush of tender leaves. Next season Shear the whole clump back to 1 to 2 inches after it flowers to renew tender leaves.Shear the whole clump to 1 to 2 inches after bloom to renew tender leaves and prevent self-seeding.

03 of 05

What happened Your chive leaves showed silvery streaks, orange spots, or wavy pale tunnels. Those are onion-family troubles: thrips, rust, or allium leafminer. Chives usually shrug them off. Next time, shear a marked-up clump to the base to regrow clean, give plants airflow and even water, and use row cover in spring and fall against the leafminer.Silvery stippling (onion thrips), bright orange pustules (rust), or white oviposition dots and mines (allium leafminer) marked the foliage. Chives are usually trouble-free, so these are occasional. Next time reset the clump by shearing to the base, open crowded stands by dividing, water at the soil line, moderate nitrogen (rust), and row-cover through the leafminer's spring and fall flights. Next season Shear the clump to regrow clean, space plants for airflow, and use row cover against the leafminer.Shear to reset the clump, divide for airflow, water low, moderate nitrogen, and row-cover against the leafminer.

04 of 05

What happened Your chive clump got crowded and the middle went thin or died out, with weaker growth. That is a sign it is overdue for dividing. Next spring, dig up the whole clump, pull or cut it into several smaller pieces (each with a handful of little bulbs), and replant them with fresh spacing.The clump crowded itself, vigor fell, and the center thinned or died out, a classic sign an established perennial chive is overdue for division. Next spring lift the clump and split it into divisions of at least several bulblets each, discarding a dead center, and replant at 6 to 12 inch spacing in refreshed soil. Next season Dig and divide the clump in early spring every 2 to 3 years to keep it vigorous.Lift and divide every 2 to 3 years in early spring, discarding the dead center and replanting vigorous divisions.

Are chives safe for pets and cookingChives, pets, and the kitchen

05 of 05

What happened Chives are in the onion family, which is toxic to cats and dogs (and horses), even though it is perfectly fine for people to eat. Keep the plants and any trimmings away from pets.Important safety note: chives are in the onion (allium) family, and all alliums are toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. They contain organosulfur compounds (N-propyl disulfide) that damage red blood cells and can cause hemolytic anemia, with cats the most sensitive, and raw, cooked, and dried parts are all toxic. Chives are safe for people in normal culinary amounts, but unlike a pet-safe herb such as rosemary, keep the plant and its trimmings away from pets. NC State lists Allium schoenoprasum as a problem for cats, dogs, and horses. Next season Keep chives and their clippings away from cats and dogs, and call a vet if your pet eats a lot.Grow chives where pets do not graze, and dispose of clippings where cats and dogs cannot reach them; if a pet eats a significant amount, contact a veterinarian.

The usual suspects

Pests & diseases

Pests

Onion thrips

P · 01

Symptoms Tiny, slender pale-yellow to brown insects hiding down in the leaf folds, leaving silvery or whitish streaks and flecks on the green blades. Bad infestations make the foliage look bleached and papery.Onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) feeding in the leaf axils and folds, producing silvery-white stippling, streaking, and a bleached, papery look on heavy pressure; they favor hot, dry weather. On chives the damage is usually cosmetic, but a severe year degrades a leaf crop. Cause Thrips are minute sap-sucking insects, common on onion-family plants, that rasp the leaves and are worst in hot, dry weather. Chives usually shrug them off, but a heavy year can mark the leaves.Thrips tabaci, the principal allium thrips, rasps leaf surfaces and feeds on the sap; populations build fast in hot, dry conditions and on stressed plants. Organic treatment Hose the plants down to knock thrips off, shear a badly streaked clump to the base so it regrows clean, and use insecticidal soap on the leaves if needed. Rinse cut leaves before use.Dislodge with a strong water jet, shear a heavily infested clump to the base to remove the population and force clean regrowth, and spray insecticidal soap or spinosad if warranted; conserve natural enemies (minute pirate bugs, lacewings). Keeping plants unstressed and watered blunts outbreaks. Prevention Keep plants watered in hot spells, welcome helpful insects like lacewings and pirate bugs, and cut a marked-up clump back to force fresh leaves.Avoid drought stress, conserve natural enemies, cut back streaked foliage to reset the clump, and avoid siting chives beside heavily thrips-pressured onion or garlic plantings.

The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

Garden sanitation

When a clump goes streaky and papery, cut it right down to the base and carry the trimmings out of the garden. The insects leave with the blades you take off, and chives push up fresh green leaves that start clean.A hard shear to the base is the reset for a marked clump: it carries the resident population out with the foliage and forces clean regrowth. Remove what you cut rather than leaving it at the edge of the bed, and treat it as the first move in a heavy year rather than the last.
Water spray

A jet from the hose knocks thrips loose while numbers are still low. Point it down into the crease where the blades overlap, because they feed tucked in there rather than out on the open leaf. Do it in the morning so the foliage has the day to dry.Thrips sit down in the leaf axils, the folds where one blade wraps the next, so aim the jet into those folds rather than across the open blade. Use it as the physical knock-down under light pressure, in the morning so leaf wetness does not carry into the evening.
Beneficial predators

Lacewings and minute pirate bugs, two small helpful insects that feed on thrips, do steady work on a chive clump. Leave them room by holding off on broad insect sprays, which take them out along with the pest.Conserving the resident predators, minute pirate bugs and lacewings among them, is the standing control on a crop where the feeding damage is usually cosmetic. A broad-spectrum material costs more here than the streaking does, since it removes the enemies holding the population flat.
Insecticidal soap

If streaking keeps spreading after the water and the shear, insecticidal soap on the leaves is the next step. It works only where it lands, so wet the folds the thrips are sitting in. Give harvested blades a rinse before they go in the kitchen.Soap is a contact material and the leaf axils are the hard part of the coverage, so a pass that misses the folds misses much of the population. It can burn foliage above 90°F or on a drought-stressed clump, which is the same hot, dry weather thrips build in, so water first and spray in the cool part of the day. Rinse harvested leaves.
Spinosad

Spinosad is a stronger organic spray, worth considering only in a bad year that has run past soap. It is hard on bees while it is fresh, so spray at dusk and keep it off a clump that is in flower. Rinse the leaves before you use them.Spinosad is the step past soap for a season when thrips pressure warrants it, and it comes after the shear, the water pass and the conserved predators rather than instead of them. It is hard on bees while wet and for roughly a day after, so the pass goes on at dusk, on a clump that is out of bloom, and the leaves are rinsed before use.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Allium leafminer

P · 02

Symptoms Rows of white dots punched down a leaf where the adult fly fed, then wavy pale mines inside the leaves, with small maggots or brown seed-like pupae tucked into the leaf bases. It shows up in spring and again in fall.Allium leafminer (Phytomyza gymnostoma): lines of white oviposition punctures down the distal leaf, followed by larval mines and brown puparia lodged in leaf sheaths and bulbs. The University of Maryland lists chive (A. schoenoprasum) among its hosts; wounds open the door to secondary bacterial and fungal rots. Cause The allium leafminer is a small fly whose larvae tunnel inside onion-family leaves, including chives, and burrow toward the base. It is a newer pest in parts of the eastern United States.Phytomyza gymnostoma, an invasive allium-specific fly with a spring flight (roughly March into May) and a fall flight (September into October); larvae mine toward the leaf base and bulb, with up to dozens of pupae per plant in severe cases. Organic treatment Cover plants with floating row cover in early spring and again in fall to keep the flies off, cut off and destroy mined leaves, and clean up plant debris.Exclude the adults with floating row cover timed to the spring and fall flights, remove and destroy mined foliage, and sanitize crop debris; spinosad or azadirachtin can help where pressure is high. Rotation away from recently infested allium ground reduces carryover. Prevention Use row cover during the spring and fall flights, remove mined leaves, and keep the bed clean.Row-cover through both flight periods, remove infested leaves, sanitize residue, and separate new plantings from pressured allium beds.

The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

Crop rotation

Put a new chive planting on ground that has not just carried alliums, the onion family that chives, onions, garlic and leeks belong to. Starting away from a spot that was mined last season cuts what carries over into the new plants.Siting a new planting away from allium ground that was mined recently lowers what carries over into it, and keeping it apart from other allium beds under pressure does the same for what arrives from outside. The fly is specific to the onion family and works two flights a year, spring and fall.
Garden sanitation

Any blade carrying a wavy pale tunnel, or the line of white dots punched down it, should come off the plant and go out with the trash rather than onto the ground beside the bed. The maggots, and the brown seed-shaped pupae that are the resting stage between maggot and adult, sit inside that tissue at the leaf bases. Clear plant debris off the bed too.Mined foliage carries the larvae, and the puparia lodge in the leaf sheaths, so stripping it removes the developing generation rather than tidying the clump. Sanitize crop residue on the same pass, and destroy what you take off. Larval wounds also open the way for secondary bacterial and fungal rots, which is a second reason not to leave mined leaves standing.
Floating row cover

Floating row cover is a light fabric you lay over the planting; sun and rain pass through and the fly cannot. It must go on before each flight: in early spring ahead of the first flies, and again before September for the fall flight, since a cover laid after eggs are in the leaves shuts nothing out. Tuck the edges in. Do not lay it over a bed that grew onion-family plants last year, or you seal emerging flies in with the chives.Phytomyza gymnostoma has two flights, roughly March into May and September into October, and the cover only works if it is up ahead of each one; adults lay into leaves they can reach, so exclusion laid after the rows of white punctures appear is late. Seal the edges. Put it on ground that carried no alliums last season; a cover over last year's mined bed traps the emerging flies under it with the crop.
Spinosad

Where the flies are heavy, spinosad is a stronger organic spray that can help. Bees are harmed by it while it is fresh, so spray at dusk and skip any planting that is in flower.Spinosad is the stronger organic material for a planting where leafminer pressure runs high, and it follows exclusion and the removal of mined foliage rather than standing in for either. Bees are at risk while it is wet and for roughly a day after, so apply at dusk and only to a planting that is not in bloom.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Onion maggot

P · 03

Symptoms Yellowing, wilting, and stunted growth as small white maggots tunnel into the base of the plant and the bulbs below the soil, sometimes rotting the crown. Worst in cool, wet springs.Onion maggot (Delia antiqua) larvae mining into the basal plate, roots, and bulbs, causing wilting, yellowing, stunting, and crown rot; damage is worst in cool, moist springs and where allium debris accumulates. Established chive clumps are seldom destroyed but can be set back. Cause Onion maggots are the larvae of a fly that lays eggs at the base of onion-family plants; the maggots eat into the roots and bulbs. Chives are rarely hit hard, but a clump can be damaged.Delia antiqua overwinters as pupae in the soil around last season's alliums; spring flies lay eggs at plant bases and successive generations attack roots and bulbs, favored by cool, wet weather and drawn to rotting organic matter, fresh manure and cull piles. Organic treatment There is no home-garden spray for maggots already inside a plant, so pull badly affected plants, roots and all, and get rid of them. Keep the flies off with row cover put on at planting, and do not leave old bulbs or culls lying around, since rotting onion material draws the fly.Remove and destroy infested plants with their roots, exclude the flies with row cover sealed at the edges from planting, and clear culls and volunteer alliums, which sustain the population between crops. Rotate off last year's allium ground and keep new plantings away from it, since the pupae overwinter in the soil there. No home-garden insecticide is available for maggots once larvae are in the crown. Prevention Put row cover on at planting, before the flies are out, but not over ground that grew onions or their relatives last year, or you trap the emerging flies under it. Clear away old bulbs and culls, keep fresh manure out of the bed in spring, and give chives a spot away from last year's onion beds.Cover from planting on ground that did not carry alliums last year, remove lifted plants and culls in fall to take the pupae out with them, hold spring manure and green manure out of the bed, and rotate: the flies emerge from the soil where alliums grew last season.

The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

Crop rotation

Give chives a spot away from wherever onions, garlic, leeks or chives grew last year, and do not set a new clump back into that ground. The fly passes the winter as pupae, its resting stage, in the soil around last year's onion-family plants, and in spring the new flies climb out of that same ground, so a bed across the garden keeps the clump out of their way.Rotate off last season's allium ground and keep the new planting at a distance from it, not merely out of it. Delia antiqua overwinters as pupae in the soil around the previous year's alliums and the first spring generation emerges from that soil, so proximity to an old allium bed is what exposes a new clump. With no home-garden insecticide for larvae in the crown, siting carries much of the weight.
Garden sanitation

Clear old bulbs, culls (the small or damaged plants you pulled and did not use) and any onion-family plants that came up on their own out of the bed and out of the garden, because rotting onion material is what draws the fly in to lay. If a clump is wilting with maggots in its base, dig it up roots and all and get rid of it. In spring, keep fresh manure out of the bed for the same reason.Sanitation works on the attractant and on the overwintering stage at once. Culls, volunteer alliums and rotting organic matter, fresh manure and green manure included, draw egg-laying, so clear them and hold manure out of the bed in spring; plants lifted in fall with their roots carry the pupae out of the ground with them. Rogue infested plants with the root ball and destroy them, since no home-garden insecticide reaches larvae already in the crown.
Floating row cover

Put floating row cover on the day the chives go in, before the spring flies are out. It is a light fabric that lets sun and water through, and with the edges buried the fly cannot reach the base of a plant, which is where it lays. Use it only on ground that did not grow onions, garlic, leeks or chives last year: a bed that carried them last season has flies waiting in its soil, and a cover seals them in with the crop.Timing and seal decide this one. Delia antiqua lays at the base of the plant, so the fabric goes on from planting, sealed at the edges, ahead of the spring flight; put on after the first generation has laid, it protects little. Rotation is its precondition: the pupae sit in the soil around last season's alliums, so a bed that carried alliums last year has the next generation under the fabric from the start, and sealing it traps them with the crop.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Diseases

Downy mildew

D · 01

Symptoms Pale, fuzzy gray-violet patches on the leaves in cool, damp weather, with the blades yellowing and collapsing. It spreads fastest in wet, crowded, poorly drained plantings.Downy mildew (Peronospora destructor) producing pale oval patches that turn violet-gray with sporulation under moisture, with leaves paling, yellowing, and collapsing; it is favored by cool (below about 75°F), humid, wet conditions and affects chives among many alliums. Cause A fungus-like disease of the onion family, favored by cool, humid, wet conditions, that can affect chives along with onions, garlic, and leeks.Peronospora destructor, an oomycete spread by wind and splashing water and favored by cool, moist weather and long leaf-wetness periods; crowded, poorly drained plantings hold it. Organic treatment Remove affected leaves, improve airflow by dividing crowded clumps, water at the base rather than over the leaves, and cut a badly hit clump back so it regrows in drier weather.Manage culturally: divide crowded clumps and space for airflow, irrigate at the soil line, remove infected foliage, and shear a heavily affected clump to regrow under drier conditions. The home garden has no reliable cure once it is established. Prevention Space and divide plants for airflow, water at the soil line, and avoid soggy, shaded, crowded spots.Open the canopy by dividing, water at the base, site in well-drained sun, and avoid the cool, wet, crowded conditions the pathogen needs.

The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

Airflow and spacing

Give clumps room, and split crowded ones, so air moves through the leaves. This disease runs where damp foliage stays damp, and a stand that dries quickly is a poorer place for it.Dividing crowded clumps and spacing them shortens the leaf wetness this oomycete depends on. It favors cool, humid weather, below about 75°F, and a dense stand holds exactly those conditions, so the layout decision is made before the weather arrives rather than in response to it.
Improve drainage

Site chives where water drains away and the sun reaches them. Soggy, shaded ground holds the dampness this disease needs, and a crowded planting on wet ground is where it spreads fastest.Poorly drained ground holds the moisture that sustains the pathogen, so drainage and exposure are worth settling before a clump goes in. On heavy or low-lying ground, correct that first rather than leaning on spacing and watering to make up for it.
Water at the base

Deliver the water down at the soil line and keep it off the foliage. This disease travels on the wind, so you cannot keep it from arriving, but it needs wet leaves to take hold, and watering low keeps the blades dry for as long as the weather lets you.Basal irrigation holds leaf wetness to what the weather imposes. The pathogen arrives on the wind and needs a long wet period on the blade to infect, so this is the practice half of the defense that spacing sets at planting.
Garden sanitation

Take off affected leaves as you notice them, and if a clump is badly hit, cut it to the base so it regrows once the weather turns drier. Get the cuttings out of the garden.Strip infected foliage, and shear a heavily affected clump so the regrowth comes on under drier conditions. Once it is established the home garden has no reliable cure, which is what puts the weight on removing tissue and on spacing, drainage and dry foliage.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Rust

D · 02

Symptoms Bright orange raised spots or streaks (pustules) scattered on the leaves. Heavily rusted blades yellow and dry up. It is more common in wet seasons and on crowded, over-fed plants.Allium rust (Puccinia species) forming bright orange to rusty raised pustules on leaves and scapes, with chlorosis and dieback of heavily infected foliage; it is favored by moist conditions, crowding, and lush high-nitrogen growth, and affects chives along with garlic, leeks, and onions. Cause Rust is a fungal disease of the onion family, including chives, that shows as orange pustules on the leaves and spreads by airborne spores in damp weather.Puccinia rust fungi spread by airborne urediniospores in humid weather; dense stands and excess nitrogen worsen it. Organic treatment Cut off and destroy rusty leaves or shear the clump to the base to regrow clean, thin crowded plantings for airflow, and avoid overhead watering and heavy nitrogen.Shear infected foliage (a hard cut to the base removes the pustules and regrows clean), divide to open crowded clumps, avoid overhead irrigation and heavy nitrogen, and remove debris. Fungicides are rarely warranted in a home planting. Prevention Give plants room and airflow, water at the base, go easy on nitrogen, and remove rusty foliage promptly.Divide for airflow, moderate nitrogen, irrigate at the soil line, and cut out rust early before it spreads.

The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

Airflow and spacing

Thin out a crowded planting and split big clumps so air can move between the blades. Rust shows up most in wet seasons and in crowded stands where the leaves stay damp, so the room you give them at planting is the first thing that works against it.Puccinia rust is favored by moisture and by a dense stand, and the two arrive together in a clump that has closed up. Divide to open it, and set spacing so the blades dry quickly after rain, since the urediniospores travel on air and need humid weather to take; the layout cannot stop arrival, only shorten the wet period they land in.
Balanced nitrogen feeding

Hold back on nitrogen fertilizer. Rust is worse on over-fed plants, because the lush growth heavy feeding pushes is what the fungus does best on, and a clump fed hard grows dense again, closing up the airflow you opened. Feed chives lightly, and keep nitrogen moderate rather than heavy.Excess nitrogen is one of the three conditions this rust is tied to, alongside moisture and crowding, and it feeds the other two: lush growth is the tissue the fungus favors, and a heavily fed clump closes back up and holds its leaves wet longer. Keep nitrogen moderate from the start of the season rather than cutting it once pustules show, since by then the growth is already there.
Water at the base

Put the hose at the base of the clump instead of sprinkling over it. Watering from above leaves the blades wet, and a wet leaf in humid weather is where the orange spots get started, so keep the foliage as dry as the weather allows.Irrigate at the soil line. The urediniospores arrive on the wind, so this does nothing to stop them landing; what it changes is how long the blade stays wet once they have, and humid, wet foliage is the condition they need. Overhead watering adds hours of wetness the weather did not impose, and that is the part of the wet period the gardener controls.
Garden sanitation

Cut off leaves with orange spots and throw them away, or, if the rust is all through the clump, shear the whole thing to the base so it comes back clean. Do it as soon as you see the spots, before they spread. At the end of the season, clear the dead leaves and trimmings out of the bed.A hard cut to the base removes the pustules with the foliage and the clump regrows clean; for a light case, taking off the spotted blades early, before it spreads and before heavy infection yellows the leaves, is the move. Get the cut material out of the bed rather than dropping it beside the clump, and clear the debris at season's end. Fungicides are rarely warranted on a home planting.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

White rot

D · 03

Symptoms Yellowing, wilting plants whose roots and crown rot, with a fluffy white mold and tiny black specks (like poppy seeds) at the base. Affected plants do not recover, and the disease stays in the soil for many years.White rot (Sclerotium cepivorum) causing yellowing, wilting, and a soft rot of roots and crown, with a fluffy white mycelium and abundant tiny black sclerotia at the base; the sclerotia persist in soil for many years, and the disease affects chives with onions, garlic, and leeks. Cause White rot is a serious soil fungus of the onion family that rots the roots and crown. Once it is in the soil it lasts a very long time, so keeping it out is the whole game.Sclerotium cepivorum, a soilborne fungus favored by cool, moist soil; its long-lived sclerotia make an infested site unusable for alliums for a decade or more, so exclusion and sanitation are the only real controls. Organic treatment There is no cure. Remove and destroy affected plants along with the soil around the roots, and do not plant chives, onions, or garlic in that spot again. Never move infected soil or plants to a clean bed.No rescue: rogue out affected plants with surrounding soil, avoid spreading infested soil on tools or transplants, and do not replant alliums in the site. Long rotation is the standing management. Prevention Start with clean plants, do not bring in soil from an infected garden, and rotate onion-family plants to fresh ground.Plant clean, sclerotia-free stock, quarantine infested ground from alliums, sanitize tools, and never import garden soil of unknown history.

The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

Clean planting stock

Start with clean plants from a source you trust, and do not bring in soil from a garden that has had this disease. An affected spot cannot be cured, so what you settle before planting counts for far more than anything you do afterward.Clean, sclerotia-free stock is settled at purchase, and it carries more weight on this disease than on most because an infested site has no rescue. Sclerotia are the fungus's resting bodies, and a dirty division or a scoop of imported soil is how they arrive in a clean bed.
Crop rotation

If a spot has had white rot, keep chives, onions and garlic out of it and put new onion-family plants on fresh ground. What the fungus leaves in the soil is a scatter of hard black survival bodies the size of poppy seeds, and they wait there for many years until another allium arrives.Long rotation is the standing management, and its length comes from the sclerotia, which persist for many years and can leave a site unusable for alliums for a decade or more. Treat infested ground as quarantined from the onion family rather than as a bed on a rotation clock.
Garden sanitation

Dig up a plant with white rot together with the soil around its roots, and get rid of both; the plant will not recover, and the soil now carries the fungus. Wash the soil off your tools before you work in another bed, and do not move that dirt, or plants from it, anywhere else in the garden.Rogue out infected plants with the surrounding soil: the sclerotia form in abundance at the base alongside the white mycelium, and they move on soil, on tools and on planting material. Sanitize tools after working the infested spot and do not carry divisions or soil out of it; on this disease sanitation is containment, keeping a decade-long problem to the bed that has it.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Botrytis (leaf blight and neck rot)

D · 04

Symptoms Small whitish sunken spots on the leaves in cool, wet weather, often with a pale green halo, that can run together and brown out the leaf tips. It is worst where the leaves stay wet for a long time and in crowded plantings.Botrytis leaf blight (Botrytis squamosa): small white sunken oval spots, 0.06 to 0.25 inch, often with a light green halo, that coalesce into tip dieback and blighted leaves under cool, moist conditions. Leaves need 20 or more hours of wetness for spots to form, and poor air circulation in a crowded stand favors it. It is documented on onion, and chives are a related host. Cause Botrytis leaf blight is a fungus of the onion family that spots and blights the leaves when they stay wet for most of a day in cool weather, and crowded, still plantings hold that wetness longest.Botrytis squamosa, favored by cool, wet weather and dense canopies; its spores are airborne, and they infect only where leaf wetness lasts 20 hours or more. It overwinters as sclerotia on infected leaves, culls and debris, which persist in the soil for months to years. Organic treatment Cut the clump back hard and clear the cut leaves away so it regrows clean, open up crowded plantings for airflow, and water at the base instead of over the leaves so the foliage dries between waterings.Shear the clump and remove the cut foliage rather than leaving it in the bed, since sclerotia form on infected leaves; divide to open the stand so leaves dry, water at the soil line and time it so foliage dries before night, and clear dead foliage and debris at the end of the season. Fungicides are seldom warranted on a home chive planting. Prevention Space and divide for airflow, water at the soil line at a time of day that lets the leaves dry, and clear out dead foliage at the end of the season.Divide for airflow, water at the base and time it for leaf drying, keep new plantings off ground that carried diseased alliums for three years, and clear dead foliage and culls at season's end, since the sclerotia overwinter in them.

The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

Airflow and spacing

Divide crowded clumps and give each one room, so air moves through the leaves and they dry after rain or watering. This blight only gets going when the leaves stay wet for most of a day in cool weather, and a crowded, still planting is exactly where they stay wet that long.Botrytis squamosa infects only where leaf wetness lasts 20 hours or more, and a dense chive stand with poor air circulation is what supplies that duration; the spores are airborne, so arrival is not the variable, drying time is. Divide and space so the canopy dries well inside the 20-hour window after rain or irrigation, and keep dividing as the clumps close up, since spacing set at planting drifts on a perennial.
Water at the base

Water at the soil line rather than over the leaves, and do it at a time of day that lets the blades dry off before night. The spots form only after the leaves have been wet for most of a day, so watering that wets the foliage in the evening hands the fungus the long wet stretch it needs.Irrigate at the soil line and time it so the foliage is dry before night, since the infection threshold is 20 or more hours of leaf wetness and an evening overhead watering carries the wet period straight through the night. The spores are airborne, so watering low does not keep them off the leaves; what it buys is a shorter wet period, which on a perennial cut and regrown all season is the one variable the gardener sets.
Garden sanitation

If the leaves are spotting, cut the clump back hard and carry the cut leaves out of the bed rather than leaving them where they fall, so the new growth comes up clean. At the end of the season, clear away the dead foliage and any plants you pulled, because the fungus spends the winter in old chive leaves and starts from there next year.Shear the clump and remove the cut foliage instead of leaving it in the bed: sclerotia form on infected leaves, and they are the overwintering stage, persisting in the soil for months to years. Clear dead foliage, culls and debris at the end of the season for the same reason. Fungicides are seldom warranted on a home chive planting, so removal is the treatment, not a step before one.
Crop rotation

If a bed has carried chives, onions, garlic or leeks with this blight, keep new plantings off it for three years. The fungus survives in the old leaves and debris left in that soil, so a fresh spot starts a new clump away from what is waiting there.Keep new plantings off ground that carried diseased alliums for three years. The sclerotia that overwinter on infected leaves, culls and debris persist in the soil for months to years, so the rotation length is set by their survival rather than by the crop's cycle, and it applies to where a new or divided clump is set.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Verified · 5 sources View

Read the full methodology →

Spot a data point that doesn't match your experience? Submit a correction; accepted corrections earn full author credit on the page.

What's happening right now

Your zone, at a finer grain

Planting calendar

Planting calendar

Planting calendar

Planting calendar

Planting calendar

Planting calendar

Planting calendar

Planting calendar

Planting calendar

Seed to garden

The growing journey

Your soil

Identify yours

What this crop wants

If your soil doesn't match

Containers and raised beds

Care guide

Yes, 1 gallon and up

Soil pH for chives

Watering

Feeding

Companion planting

When to pick

What to expect

Recommended varieties

Storing your harvest

Recipes to try

Grilled Corn with Herb Compound Butter

Herb Butter Grilled Chicken

Zucchini Fritters with Yogurt

Common problems

Pests & diseases

Crop rotation

When plant taps you on the shoulder

Common questions

Got a question we missed?

Share a tip

Report a problem

Methodology & sources

Growing notes, weekly.