chives
chives
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- Standard £5.95
This herb dies back to below ground level each year in autumn, then fresh new growth appears again in spring.
- Position: Full sun
- Soil:Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: Fast
- Flowering period: July to August
- Hardiness: Fully hardy
One of the main reasons for growing chives is to harvest the edible leaves, which enhance the flavour of many savoury dishes. This vigorous plant also produces clusters of brilliant pink to purple or white, button-like summer flowers, which are also edible and look wonderful sprinkled over summer salads. It's perfect for a sunny, well-drained border or gravel garden - and will make a decorative addition to herb or vegetable plot.
Keep well-watered and snip off flowers to keep plants producing new leaves. In late summer after flowering cut all leaves down to about 5cm above ground level to encourage a new flush of young growth.
Choose a rich soil in sun or part shade and sow sparingly into shallow drills in spring. Cover lightly with more soil and water well. They can also be sown in seed trays full of potting compost: pot on seedlings as they grow and transplanting outside allowing 10cm between plants.