Growing Chives in Australia: The Complete Guide

Chives is an easy bulb & allium to grow, needing full sun with moderate watering.

If you're thinking about adding chives to the homestead, here's the detail behind our printable guide — what it actually takes to grow it well in an Australian garden, not just the quick-reference version.

Every crop earns its place in a garden differently, and chives is no exception. At a glance, it's rated easy, with a sun of full–part sun; water of regular; soil ph of 6.0–7.0 — details that matter more once you're actually planning around them than they do on a first read. The rest of this article works through exactly what each of those means day to day, in more depth than a single printable card has room for, and with the reasoning behind each recommendation rather than just the recommendation itself.

Climate and Timing Considerations

Australia's climate zones change growing timing more than most general advice accounts for. Cool temperate zones (Tasmania, the Victorian highlands, southern NSW) have recurring frost risk well into what other zones call spring, which compresses the safe planting window for frost-tender plantings. Warm temperate zones (Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth) sit closest to what general advice assumes by default. Subtropical zones (Brisbane, northern NSW) rarely see frost at all, and the growing calendar shifts earlier and later as a result. Our site-wide zone setting adjusts the advisory note shown on the Planting Calendar for exactly this reason — worth setting once if you haven't already. The same zone setting also feeds the Harvest Calendar, so both ends of the growing cycle reflect wherever you actually garden, rather than a generic Australia-wide average.

• Cool Temperate (TAS, VIC highlands, southern NSW, ACT): shorter frost-free window — lean toward the later end of any spring planting window shown on the guide above.
• Warm Temperate (Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, coastal NSW/WA): closest match to the general timing shown above; frost is occasional but rarely severe.
• Subtropical (Brisbane, northern NSW, coastal QLD): minimal frost risk — often plantable a few weeks earlier and later than the general window shown above.

A perennial clump, not a bulb

Unlike bulb onions, chives are perennial and grown for their hollow, grass-like leaves. Snip rather than pull, and a single clump keeps producing for years.

Preserving. See Freezing Produce for chopping and freezing a glut.

Getting Chives Into the Ground

Method. Direct sow in a clump, or plant divisions from an established patch.

Soil. Fertile, well-drained.

Timing. Sow or divide in spring; established clumps die back over winter and resprout.

Taken together, these are the details that separate a smooth result from a frustrating one.

Day-to-Day Care

Worth paying attention to:

• Cut leaves to about 5cm above the ground rather than pulling the plant.
• Remove flower heads to keep leaf production going, or leave some for the bees.
• Divide clumps every 2–4 years to keep them vigorous.
• Keep soil evenly moist through the growing season.

Getting these details right matters more than it might seem — cut rather than pull, and divide crowded clumps every couple of years. Keep soil evenly moist through the growing season. Treat this list as a routine to build rather than a one-off checklist, and it becomes second nature within a season or two.

What Can Go Wrong

Keep these points in mind:

• Onion thrips — silvery streaking; hose off.
• Rust — orange spotting; improve airflow.
• Powdery mildew — humid, crowded conditions; divide clumps to improve airflow.
• Overcrowding — a clump left too long produces thinner leaves; divide regularly.

Each of these compounds over a season — small misses early tend to show up later — onion thrips and rust both respond well to improved airflow. Overcrowding is the one that sneaks up gradually rather than showing up overnight. Treat this list as a routine to build rather than a one-off checklist, and it becomes second nature within a season or two.

Harvest and Storage

Signs. Leaves 15–20cm tall, roughly 60 days after sowing for a first cut.

Method. Snip leaves 3–5cm above the base with scissors; regrows for repeated harvests.

Curing. None needed.

Storage. Fridge, a few days fresh; freezes well chopped for longer storage.

It's worth reading these as a set rather than in isolation; they reinforce each other.

Companions & rotation

Our printable card above lists specific plants that pair well nearby and others best avoided, along with a rotation note: Carrot, Tomato, Lettuce, Beans, Peas. Getting this right matters more over multiple seasons than it does in any single one — the benefits and the risks of poor rotation both compound over time rather than showing up immediately.

Related Guides

If chives suits your garden, these related guides in the same category are worth a look too:

• Garlic
• Leek
• Onion
• Spring Onion

For the condensed, printable version of everything above, head to the main chives guide page. Companion planting and bed rotation both make a measurable difference over a season, and our Companion Planting Checker takes the guesswork out of both. As with every guide on this site, this is general information based on our own research and experience, not professional advice — your specific soil, climate, and circumstances will always vary from ours to some degree.

Beyond the printable card, our Planting Calendar and Harvest Calendar tools will show a zone-adjusted note for chives specifically, and the Companion Planting Checker covers the specific pairings mentioned above in more detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

→ View the printable A4 guide for chives