There are lots of reasons to love and hate garlic chives, also called Chinese chives. On the upside, they’re easy to grow, attractive and delicious to eat. The downside is they're impossibly invasive if one doesn't remove their flower heads before they set and drop seed. Each seedhead produces copious amounts of viable, black, wedge-shaped seeds that germinate fast. You’ll be weeding baby garlic chives out of every garden nook and cranny. The plants originate from Southwest China but have become naturalized in many areas of the world, including regions of the American Midwest.
This fast-growing bulbous perennial produces deciduous to semi-evergreen clumps of flat, green, strap-like chives. These have a pungent oniony garlic scent and flavor and can be chopped into spring dishes like standard chives or added to stir fry. In late summer or fall, slender floral scapes rise above the foliage. These become topped with umbels of star-shaped white flowers that are also edible and look pretty in salads. Bees and other insects pollinate the blooms. Papery fruits filled with glossy black, wedge-shaped seeds follow. Be sure to cut the flower scapes back before they set seed.
Grow garlic chives in full sun and well-drained soil with average fertility. Once established, they will tolerate some summer drought. Most opt to plant these clump-forming edibles in the herb garden, but they are also pretty enough for sunny rock gardens, ornamental containers or perennial borders.
Info source: http://learn2grow.com/plants/allium-tuberosum/
Approximately 100 seeds in a packet for 3-4 sq.m.
Genus - Allium
Species - Tuberosum
Common name - Garlic Chives
Pre-Treatment - Not-required
Hardiness zones - 4 - 9
Height - 0,30 - 0,50 m
Spread - 0,10 - 0,15 m
Plant type - Herb
Exposure - Full Sun, Partial Sun
Growth rate - Fast
Soil PH - Neutral
Soil type - Fertile, Laom, Sand, well drained
Water requirements - Average
Landscape uses - Container, Edible, Herb / Vegetable, Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall
Bloom season - Late SummCherry-whiteer, Early Fall
Leaf / Flower color - Green / White
Useful Info | |
Germination | Soak the seeds overnight in warm water.<br /> Start seeds indoors six weeks before planting outdoors (March - April).<br /> Sow on the surface and cover the pots with clear plastic. Place in light and warm position.<br /> Chive seeds will germinate in soil in approximately 15 to 21 days, but can germinate in as few as 10 to 14 days in dedicated propagation media. |