Growing chives indoors is possible and rewarding when you are looking for a supply of this herb year-round. It’s a herb that tastes best when picked fresh. Also, it looks great in any indoor setting due to the bright green, grass-like foliage and attractive mauve blooms.
Also Read: 46 Indoor Herb Garden Tips
How to Propagate Chives
You can grow it from the seeds or, from a preexistent plant by division. Most gardeners prefer to divide the bulbs and plant them as it’s a much easier and quicker way to grow chives. Our advice is to buy transplants from the nursery.
Also Read: Common Mistakes To Avoid When Buying Plants From Nursery
Selecting a Variety
Common chives and Garlic chives are the two most common species of chives you can grow indoors. As the name suggests, they differ in the flavor with onion chives having mild onion-like flavor and garlic chives having a garlic-like taste.
Container Size
They are well adapted to small sized containers, which makes growing chives indoors easier. Any pot ranging from 6-8 inches in diameter will do the job. Chives do well in almost any pot material.
Also Read: 100 Amazing Container Gardening Tips
Requirements for Growing Chives Indoors
Location
It’ll do best in full sun, so place it nearby south or west-facing window for optimum growth. Don’t fret if you don’t have access to a south window as this herb doesn’t mind living in partial shade. Any indoor spot that receives all day long bright indirect light and 4 hours of the sun should be fine. It’s a perfect windowsill herb! You can also place it under grow light for around 12-14 hours a day.
Watering
When growing anything indoors always be prudent about watering Keep the soil slightly saturated but avoid keeping it soggy all the time as it leads to root rot. Instead of watering daily as a routine, poke your index finger in the soil and check whether the soil is dry to the touch and then water the plant.
NOTE: Tips of the chives turn yellow when underwatered so increase watering a little taking care not to overdo it.
Soil
Any commercial potting mix intended for regular garden plants or houseplants will do the work, or you can make your own light and well-drained potting soil with the way it’s shown here.
Also Read: How to Grow Tomatoes Indoors
Indoor Chives Care
Fertilizing
Use half or one-quarter strength balanced liquid fertilizer. Follow the interval of 2-3 weeks before every application. During winters in cold climates, chives don’t show any prominent growth and do not require feeding.
Harvesting
Apart from leaving the plant two inches above the soil level, you can cut it back as much as you need. Use a sharp pair of scissors for harvesting when the plant has reached more than six inches in height. The more frequently you harvest, the more quickly chives will grow back again.
Pests and Diseases
It’s mostly resistant to diseases and pests. Root rot might affect it if it remains in standing water for too long. When keeping it indoors, be aware of spider mites and aphids. Squeeze the aphids with fingers and spray with water or insecticidal soap to get rid of spider mites.
To learn more about growing chives, check out our detailed article here.
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