Chive is a perennial culinary herb, grown for the flavor it brings to the kitchen, ready to harvest about 80 days after planting. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 9, stands up to deer and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies, even though the harvest is the prize. As an allium (the onion family), give it a fresh bed each year — away from where its relatives just grew — so the soil-borne pests and diseases of the family never get a foothold.
Chive — the short answer
Chive: grown in zones 3–9, part sun, pH 5–8.2, about 80 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 3–9
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 5–8.2
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Part Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 80 days
- UMass-Veg; USDA-NRCS
- Frost-kill temperature
- -30°F
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Chive on your exact land.
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What Chive is
Chive grows as a perennial and reaches around a foot at maturity. It blooms purple in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Chive
Chive grows in USDA zones 3 through 9 and is ready to harvest about 80 days after planting. Chive does best in part sun — at least 4 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5 to 8.2, on well-drained ground. It needs around 1,200 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 70 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
3-9
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5 - 8.2
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Part Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
-30°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Minimum Growing Temperature
35.6°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Days to Maturity
80 days
Chive; perennial; cut-and-come-again. Cold-hardy.
UMass-Veg; USDA-NRCS
GDD Required
1200+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
1 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
70+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant chive in part sun with at least 4 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Chive prefers pH 5 to 8.2 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at maturity
Chive is ready about 80 days after planting (UMass-Veg; USDA-NRCS). Snip sprigs as you need them — regular cutting keeps the foliage tender and slows it bolting to flower.
Where Chive thrives
Chive is hardy across USDA zones 3 through 9. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 3–9 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 30°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 42 outright and splits 9 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Two different numbers hide in that range: zones 3–9 is where chive is GROWN, but it survives winter in the ground only down to zone 4 (NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder). Colder than that, it is grown as an annual or brought under cover.
Zones 3–9·Where Chive growsOpen map →
Where Chive stands, state by state
Chive is rated for zones 3–9 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 42 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 9 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 3–9
42 states
3 of 42 shown
The line runs through
9 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Nevada · zones 4a-10a
3 of 9 shown
Chive’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Chive
Growing guides for chive
In rotation planning, chive counts as a Allium — beds recover best when allium crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Good to know
One caution for pet owners — chive is toxic to dogs and cats (moderate severity). Keep it out of reach, and call ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 in an emergency. (Source: ASPCA.)
Chive offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Before you harvest chive, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant chive for food. Our free screen reads 9 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Chive's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Chive will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether chive actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Chive
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Chive in my zone?
Chive grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 9 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Chive take to grow?
Chive is ready to harvest about 80 days after planting (UMass-Veg; USDA-NRCS). Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Chive?
Chive is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Chive need?
Chive does well in partial sun — around 4 hours of direct sun, and it takes some afternoon shade in stride. That flexibility makes it a good match for a bed the house or a nearby tree shades for part of the day. A Growable Ground report maps how the sun actually falls on your land, hour by hour, so you can set it where the light lines up.
What soil does Chive need?
Chive prefers soil pH 5 to 8.2, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Chive attract pollinators?
Yes — chive's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Is Chive safe for pets?
Chive is toxic to pets (dogs,cats) with moderate severity. Keep it out of reach, and call ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 in an emergency. (Source: ASPCA.)