Flavorful foliage in Chives can enhance the flavor of any dish, but when they produce pretty little flowers, it creates confusion about whether to let them flower or snip the buds away.
Cutting the Chives flowers off the plant helps in making the plant look tidy and reshapes the plant.
So, go through this complete article to know if it’s good to let chives flower or remove them before they start producing seeds.
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Are Chives Good If They Flower?
It’s good to consume Chives even if they flower, as the flowers also contain unique flavors in Chives.
Moreover, many prefer to consume flowers with a mild onion-like flavor. Also, you can feel the sweet, peppery flavor.
Also, you can eat the flowers raw or dry and cook them; they will taste amazing. However, many people grow Chives for their leaves rather than flowers.
Chives usually flower in the second year of the plantation, but some plants can also flower in the first year.
They produce pink, purple, or white blossoms lasting 1-2 weeks. Once they bloom, the flavor in the leaves starts to decrease.
Furthermore, after the maturity of flowers, the plant self-seeds and spreads vigorously. This creates problems for other plants in the garden by overcrowding.
Should I Cut the Flowers Off My Chives?
Although you can harvest and consume Chives flowers, the leaves contain more flavors than the blossoms. The flavorful and delicate leaves start to become tough and woody after the Chives flowers.
Moreover, removing the flower buds before they mature will form the new leaves during the growing season. Also, there is no risk of self-seeding and their vigorous spread.
However, if you are concerned about the aesthetic appeal of your garden rather than consumption, it’s better to let Chives flower even during the fall.
Nevertheless, the flowers can fade in the fall, making the plant look messy. So, remove the spent flowers and let the fresh blossoms bloom during the fall.
How to Prune Chives to Promote Growth?
Before pruning Chives to promote new growth, make sure you have sharp and sterilized pruning tools to prevent infections.
Moreover, it’s perfect to trim your Chives during the early spring after the last frost after they reach 6-8 inches. To encourage lush growth, prune the flower buds too.
- Inspect the dead, damaged, and yellow leaves from the base and remove them carefully without damaging the main stem.
- Remove all the leaves with pathogenic invasion to save the plant’s energy.
- Avoid cutting off the foliage too close to the soil surface to prevent plant damage.
- Use pruning sealant to prevent infections and proper healing.
- Remove all the spent flowers to divert the plant’s energy into producing new leaves instead of seeds.
- Leave at least one-third of the plant’s leaves to make them photosynthesize and produce energy.
From Editorial Team
Drawbacks Of Not Letting Chives Flower!
If you cut the flowers off from your Chives, pollinators like bees, butterflies, etc., who rely on the flower’s nectar will divert. This can also deprive them of food sources.
Additionally, trimming the flowers off prevents the plant from reseeding this perennial that comes back every year. This also decreases the lifespan of your Chives.
