In article , Pat Meadows
wrote:

On Mon, 31 Mar 2003 10:52:28 -0500, "Bunny McElwee"
wrote:

Thank you both for your information. I've only grown them in one pot,
but it does appear that it has stayed in its own little "mound". I'd like to
plant them around a tree in my front yard, both for the beautiful flowers,
and for the chives. Is there anything I should know about cutting them back
or anything, say in winter? As I said in my previous message, I had one in a
pot and it stayed out all winter, and even got two days of snow (Charleston,
SC - Little to no snow) and while it had a little bit of the foliage die
back around the outer edges, the middle sprang tons of new growth and then
tons of flowers, and is still sending out flowers today. How long will the
plant flower and should I cut it back in the winter?


I grew chives in Delaware - it's pretty cold in winter
there, snow is common. The coldest I can remember was about
10 below zero (Fahrenheit).

I never did anything to them, I planted them once, and that
was it.

Pat

They grow beautifully up here in Alaska, Zone 3, without any care at all.
(We get good summer rainfall; you may need to water them a little -- I
don't know. We normally don't have to water our gardens.)

If the clumps spread, dig them up and give them away. One of my neighbors
has a clump that has spread a few feet over the last 20 years. She just digs
a shovelful up once in awhile and gives them away, when they start going
somewhere that they aren't wanted. (I do the same with my rhubarb plants.)

I wonder if chives would be a good companion for roses. (?) Roses seem *so*
prone to bugs -- maybe the chives would make the bugs feel unwelcome.

Jan