Garlic chives

Sun

Full sun for the best growth and flowering; tolerates partial shade.

Water

Keep evenly moist while establishing and during repeated harvesting. Established clumps tolerate short dry spells, but leaf production slows.

Soil

Well-drained soil enriched with compost; tolerates clay if it does not stay waterlogged.

Height

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m), including flower stems

Spread

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m) per mature clump

Flowers

Late summer to autumn; rounded clusters of small, star-shaped white flowers.

Foliage

Narrow, flat, solid green leaves with a distinct garlic smell when crushed; dies back in cold winters.

Growth

Moderate; clumps enlarge steadily and can spread widely by seed.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Cold hardy
• Heat tolerant
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.1 ft (0.35 m)

3. After 2 years

   1.3 ft (0.4 m)

4. After 3 years

   1.5 ft (0.45 m)

   full size

About 3 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Moderate

• Water during dry spells to keep leaves tender, allowing excess water to drain away.
• Apply a thin layer of compost in spring; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding.
• Mulch lightly around clumps to conserve moisture, keeping the crowns clear.
• Divide crowded clumps every three or four years in spring.
• Remove fading flower heads before the seed capsules open if you do not want seedlings.

Pruning. Cut yellowed foliage to ground level after it dies back in autumn or winter. Snip off spent flower stems before seed ripens unless you want to collect seed.

Pick healthy green leaves once the clump is established and leaves are about 6 in (15 cm) long, cutting near the base and leaving some foliage to support regrowth. Harvest regularly from spring to autumn; young flower stems with unopened buds and freshly opened flowers are also edible.

Early spring

Clear dead foliage and apply a thin layer of compost as growth resumes.

Spring

Sow seed, plant young plants or divide established clumps.

Late spring

Begin light harvesting once plants are growing strongly.

Summer

Harvest leaves regularly and water during dry spells.

Late summer

Pick unopened flower stems for cooking or leave flowers for pollinators.

Autumn

Remove flower heads before seed sheds, then cut back foliage once it has died.

• Edge vegetable beds with neat, harvestable clumps.
• Plant in a kitchen-door container with parsley and other moisture-loving culinary herbs.
• Repeat through sunny mixed borders for fine-textured foliage and late white flowers.
• Combine with asters and sedums to extend the flowering season for pollinators.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Herb parterre, Edible landscape, Cottage garden, Pollinator garden and Small-space.

Plant it with: Parsley, Swiss chard, Lettuce, Calendula, Autumn asters and Sedum.

Wildlife: Flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees, hoverflies and other insects. Deer and rabbits often avoid the strongly scented leaves, though damage is still possible.

• Unwanted seedlings: remove flower heads before capsules split and pull seedlings while small.
• Onion thrips can cause silvery streaks and weak leaves: rinse foliage, remove badly damaged leaves and avoid letting plants become drought-stressed.
• Rust can produce orange pustules on leaves: remove affected foliage, improve spacing and avoid wetting leaves when watering.
• Crown or root rot in wet soil: improve drainage, reduce watering and discard rotting clumps.

Leaves, flower stems and flowers are edible for people in normal culinary quantities. All parts are toxic to cats, dogs and horses if eaten and can damage red blood cells, potentially causing serious anaemia; contact a veterinarian after suspected ingestion.

Where it spreads. Can spread aggressively by self-seeding in gardens in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, especially where summers allow abundant seed to ripen. It has escaped cultivation in parts of the eastern United States; prevent seed set near natural areas.

• Common chives (Allium schoenoprasum)

  Common chives have round, hollow leaves and usually pink-purple flowers; garlic chives have flat, solid leaves and white flowers.

• Society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea)

  Society garlic also has flat, garlic-scented leaves, but its flowers are usually lilac-pink and tubular rather than white and star-shaped.

• Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum)

  This poisonous bulb usually flowers in spring and has leaves with a pale central stripe and no garlic scent. Do not eat unidentified bulbs or rely on smell alone for identification.

The common name refers to its garlic-flavoured leaves, while the botanical epithet tuberosum means tuberous.

Propagation. Divide established clumps in spring, replanting sections with healthy roots and several shoots. Alternatively, sow fresh seed shallowly in spring; seedlings take longer than divisions to reach harvesting size.

Accepted botanical name

Allium tuberosum

Native range

Assam, China North-Central, Nepal and West Himalaya.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.