Onions & garlic · perennial season
Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
The first green thing in an Ohio spring. A clump lasts for years.
- When to plant in Ohio
- Plant divisions in April or September; seed in spring
- Harvest window
- April through October, then again after frost dieback
- Days to maturity
- Perennial; first cuts in year one
- Spacing
- 8–12 in. clumps
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
How to grow it
Plant in a permanent edge bed. Cut 2 in. above the crown and the clump regrows. Divide every 3 years in spring. Let a few purple flowers open for pollinators, then shear to keep leaves tender. Garlic chives (A. tuberosum) bloom later and are equally hardy.
