Perennial. The graceful leaves and blossoms have a mild onion flavor, especially when used fresh. Use the leaves in cooking and toss the flowers in salads or use them as a garnish. Zones 6 – 9. Full sun, rich, well-drained soil. Every 3 years, divide older clumps in the early spring and freshen with compost.

Height 6 – 12 inches, perennial bulb with green tubular leaves. Flowers in June with pink or lavender to purple globular flower heads. Avoid we areas that encourage stem and bulb diseases. Use fresh leaf tips all summer once plants are 6" tall, leave at least 2" remaining. Chives are best used fresh or chopped and dried. They freeze poorly. Chives are recommended companion plants for carrots, grapes, roses and tomatoes because the ward off Japanese beetles and black spot. A ring of chives around an apple tree may inhibit the growth of apple scab (possibly by affecting the spores carried on dropped leaves). Chives inhibit the growth of beans or peas. Chives are a hardy perennial and easy to grow, popular with chefs and cooks. Looks like grass, chives have rounded spikes. The lavender flowers are borne on the tough stems and are very attractive and useful in the kitchen. Chives have a mild onion flavor and can be used in any foods that call for onion. Chefs use the long spikes as a garnish. Most often they are snipped or chopped finely and sprinkled on top of food dishes as a garnish. When used to flavor food, they are usually mixed with other herbs. The whole stems are used, except the tough ones that bear flowers. To simplify chopping, bunch the chives together, This way they can be held in one hand and the tips snipped with sharp scissors. Chefs usually lay a bunch on a cutting board and chop them with a sharp knife. There are very few insects that like chives. Always cut chives at the bottom about 1 inch from the crown. Cutting the tips will not force the plant to regrow.