What to Do with Wild Chives

06.06.2023 - 16:11 / gardenerspath.com / Laura Ojeda Melchor

If you’ve ever smelled something oniony in your yard and seen hollow-stemmed, grasslike herbs growing there, you might be dealing with wild chives (Allium schoenoprasum).

But what are wild chives, exactly? Will they spread everywhere? Can you eat them? What do you do with them?

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In this guide, we’ll answer all of these questions.

Here’s what we’ll dig into:

These succulent, hardy members of the Allium genus grow along rocky creek banks and lakes, as well as in marshy meadows and grassy yards, from Zone 3 in Alaska down into the lower 48 states, as far south as Zone 8 and sometimes Zone 9.

They begin growing in early spring before the rest of the natural world has fully awakened to the new season.

To spot them, look out for telltale bunches of grasslike green leaves rising above old, dead grass. You’ll know the clumps aren’t grass when you get closer and see the cylindrical shape of the leaves, which grow 12 to 24 inches tall and can spread up to 12 inches.

You might not be looking at wild chives, though. Onion grass (A. vineale) looks almost identical to A. schoenoprasum and often pops up in lawns. Other alliums that closely resemble wild chives can also appear in your yard, including wild garlic (A. canadense), and onion weed or three-cornered leek (A. triquetrum).

The bad news is that in the United States, A. canadense, A. triquetrum, and A. vineale are seen as weeds. Onion grass is even listed as an invasive weed that can affect the taste of nearby crops of wheat or other grains, though it is a native plant in parts of Europe.

If you don’t live