Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

Should I Cut My Chives Back in Fall?

Should I Cut My Chives Back in Fall?

“[I] have a question regarding my chives. They have flowered. Should I cut them back now this time of year or leave them be?” Question from Jeanne of Coldwater, Michigan

Answer: The foliage of edible chives (Allium schoenoprasum) will remain attractive and clippable until the first frost causes the strappy leaves to flop. You can cut them back at this time if you wish. Otherwise, leave them up to enjoy through fall. The same goes for summer-flowering ornamental onions.

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

About JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

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