Plant ID card |
|
|---|---|
Botanical name |
Allium fistulosum. |
Common name |
Chive, spring onion, spring onion, cebe, fistulous garlic, green onion, Spanish onion. |
Family |
Alliaceae. |
Origin |
Asia, Europe. |
Dimensions |
Between 20 and 50 cm high. |
Foliage |
Cylindrical, hollow leaves, dark green in color. |
Bloom |
In spring, white flowers grouped in round umbels. |
Exposure |
Sunny. |
Ground |
Fresh, rich and well drained. |
Rusticity |
From -17 to -22°C. |
Close to chives, onions and shallots, it is very easy to grow and easily finds its place in the vegetable garden.
Discover all our tips for cultivating cive.
Cive, an aromatic plant with a delicate taste
The chive, or spring onion (
Allium fistulosum
), is a perennial aromatic plant belonging to the alliaceae family, like chives.
The leaves of the cive, cylindrical and hollow, are 20 to 50 cm high and are reminiscent, in appearance, of those of the onion.
The cive flowers in the spring of the second year of cultivation.
Creamy white in color, the flowers are grouped in round umbels.
Edible, their petals can be used to decorate salads.
Chives are rich in antioxidants, mineral salts, and vitamins B and C. Used as a condiment,
spring onion leaves
offer a more pronounced flavor than those of chives.
The white or red part, depending on the variety, has a taste close to that of onion, but finer and more delicate.
Also read: The top 20 aromatic herbs to grow at home
Where and how to plant the civve?
You can sow chives at the beginning of spring, from March in mild climates, and until May for colder regions.
Spring onion appreciates rich soils.
So improve your soil beforehand with compost or nettle manure.
Sow in place
, in rows 20 cm apart, 0.5 cm deep.
Thin out after emergence so as to maintain one foot every 10 cm.
You will be able to harvest the first leaves three months after sowing.
You can sow chives at the beginning of spring, from March in mild climates, and until May for colder regions.
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No use without permission.
How to maintain the cive?
The cive is very easy to grow and requires little care.
Water only the first month of cultivation and in case of drought.
Remove flowers as soon as they appear, as flowering exhausts the plants.
Mulch the plants to maintain good soil moisture.
Perennial, the cive is
cultivated as a biennial
.
Indeed, beyond that, the feet become exhausted.
To get new plants, simply divide the clump in spring.
Harvest the leaves as needed.
In regions with cold winters, the foliage disappears in the fall and returns in spring.
To enjoy your harvests longer, you can
freeze spring onion leaves
after washing and drying them.
The cive is very easy to grow and requires little care.
Copyright (c) 2020 AnkaFed/Shutterstock.
No use without permission.
Also read: A clever idea for keeping your aromatic herbs longer
How to keep pests away from spring onion?
Like the onion, the chive is susceptible to the onion fly, the leafminer and the leek moth.
For prevention, you can use an anti-insect veil.
Furthermore, there are effective vegetable combinations to keep these pests away:
Carrots,
for example, are good companion plants for spring onions: they keep away the parasites to which the spring onions are sensitive, while the latter promotes their growth and accentuates their flavor;
Spring onions also appreciate the
proximity of beets, cucumbers and strawberries
.
On the other hand, absolutely avoid planting it very close to fabaceae.
Like all plants in the Alliaceae family, the cive does not like the excess nitrogen brought into the soil by the latter.