Record — updated 2026-07

Chives Companion Plants

Entry No. 043

Allium schoenoprasum · onion family family · rotation group: allium

The best companion plants for chives are Tomato, Rose, Lettuce, Strawberry and Strawberry. Avoid planting chives near Bean, Pea, Onion. Of the 8 pairings recorded here, 0 are supported by published research and 7 are traditional practice with no controlled evidence behind them.

Research-backed tested in controlled research Traditional long practice, untested Not supported tested and not supported

What to plant with chives

Companion plants for chives — 0 research-backed, 4 traditional
Plant	Claimed benefit	Evidence	What the evidence actually shows
Lettuce	Chives edge lettuce beds without competing for space.	Traditional	Practical bed-edging; no measured biological interaction. Source: Chives, Illinois Extension Herbs
Rose	Chives planted under roses reduce blackspot and aphids.	Traditional	A very old claim with no supporting trial; sanitation and resistant cultivars are the documented blackspot controls. Source: Allium schoenoprasum, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Strawberry	Chives are a traditional strawberry-bed companion said to reduce pest damage.	Traditional	No controlled evidence located. Source: Growing chives in home gardens, University of Minnesota Extension
Tomato	Chives deter aphids from tomatoes.	Traditional	Very widely repeated; no controlled trial found showing reduced aphid pressure on tomato from a chive interplant. Source: Growing chives in home gardens, University of Minnesota Extension
Carrot	Chives mask the carrot scent and deter carrot rust fly.	Not supported	The allium-masks-carrot-fly belief is the aromatic-repellency claim WSU Extension reports field research has not borne out. Source: Chalker-Scott, L., Gardening with Companion Plants (Home Garden Series), WSU Extension EM128E

What not to plant with chives

Plants to keep away from chives
Plant	Claimed problem	Evidence	What the evidence actually shows
Bean	Alliums are said to inhibit legume growth.	Traditional	One of the most repeated chart entries; no controlled trial supports it in home-garden conditions. Source: Allium schoenoprasum, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Onion	Same-family crop that shares onion pests and diseases.	Traditional	Genuine rotation consideration: keep all alliums in one rotation group rather than following each other. Source: Growing chives in home gardens, University of Minnesota Extension
Pea	Peas are said to grow poorly near chives and other alliums.	Traditional	Same untested folklore as the bean pairing. Source: Chives, Illinois Extension Herbs

The honest verdict

None of the companion pairings commonly recommended for chives have been confirmed in controlled trials that we could find. That does not make them harmful — it means the benefit is unproven, and you should plant for spacing, sun, and water compatibility first.

The remaining 4 pairings on this page are traditional practice. They circulate on every companion planting chart online, but we could not find controlled evidence testing them. They are not wrong so much as unverified — most cost nothing to try, and interplanting flowers and herbs has its own well-documented benefit of pulling pollinators and predatory insects into the garden.

Widely repeated, not supported: Carrot — The allium-masks-carrot-fly belief is the aromatic-repellency claim WSU Extension reports field research has not borne out.

Every row above links to the publication it came from. See how we grade evidence.

Other recorded effects

Effects that aren't about a neighbouring plant — what chives does for (or to) the garden around it, and the caveats attached to the popular versions of those claims.

Recorded effects and caveats — Chives
Effect	The claim	Evidence	What the evidence actually shows
Pollinators	Chive flowers are an early, heavily worked nectar source for bees.	Traditional	Reliable observationally; flowers are also edible, so let some bloom. Source: Chives, Allium schoenoprasum, Wisconsin Horticulture, UW-Madison Extension

Growing chives: the numbers

Field data — Chives
Sun	Full sun (6+ hours)
Water	Moderate
Spacing	8 in apart · 18 in between rows · 1 per square foot
Mature size	about 15 in tall
Soil pH	6–7
Days to maturity	80–90 days
Frost tolerance	Hardy — takes hard frost
Containers	Yes — 1 gallon minimum
Hardiness zones	3–9 (perennial)
Common pests	thrips, onion maggot
Common diseases	root rot, downy mildew, rust

When to plant chives

Zone 6b shown

Start indoors Sow / transplant outdoors Harvest

Start seeds indoors: Jan 30 – Feb 13 — 8–10 weeks before your last frost

Transplant outdoors: Apr 10 – Apr 23 — around your last frost date

Direct sow outdoors: Apr 10 – Apr 23 — around your last frost date

Expected harvest: Jun 29 – Jul 9 — 80–90 days from planting

Those dates are for zone 6b. Get your own dates by ZIP code →

Varieties worth knowing

seeds

Staro — extra-thick dark leaves; best for freezing and processing
Grolau — Swiss strain with strong flavour; excellent for indoor forcing
Nelly — fine-textured, uniform and upright
Profusion — sterile; long bloom and no self-seeding

Variety names link to seeds on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These are the varieties named in the extension sources for this crop, not a paid placement — where a source recommended a variety for a specific reason, that reason is the note beside it.

Put it in a bed

The garden planner checks every square against this ledger as you place crops — if you drop chives next to something recorded as a bad neighbour, the square turns red and tells you why.

Records for the plants named above:

Carrot Tomato Lettuce Strawberry

Same rotation group (allium) — don't follow one with another:

Garlic Leek Onion

Chives companion planting questions

What should not be planted next to chives?

Bean, Pea, Onion. Alliums are said to inhibit legume growth. One of the most repeated chart entries; no controlled trial supports it in home-garden conditions.

How far apart should chives be planted?

Space chives about 8 inches apart in the row, with 18 inches between rows. In a square-foot bed that works out to 1 plant per square foot.

Does companion planting with chives actually work?

Partly. None of the pairings we found for chives have been confirmed in controlled trials. The rest are traditional practice: plausible, harmless to try, but untested. Treat the folklore as a starting point rather than a rule, and read what the evidence says about companion planting.

When should I plant chives?

Start seed indoors 8–10 weeks before your last frost. Transplant outdoors around your last frost date. In zone 6b that means roughly Apr 10 – Apr 23. Get exact dates for your ZIP code →

Sources for this record

Record compiled 2026-07. Spot an error or a study we missed? Tell us and we'll correct the entry.