What to do now
Mildest step first.
- Cut the whole clump at once, 1–2 inches above the soil, instead of picking single leaves.
- Side-dress with compost or a little balanced fertilizer after each cutting.
- Cut flower stalks as blooms fade, or pick them in bud to eat.
- Lift and divide crowded clumps in spring, about every 3 years.
Not sure this is it? Check other garlic chives (buchu) problems
A perennial for cutting
Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum), buchu in Korean, are a perennial onion relative hardy in zones 3 to 9, according to University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension. Each small bulb sits on a stout rhizome, and clumps widen slowly. In cold winters the leaves die back to the ground and return in spring; in warm climates they can stay green. A well-kept clump can supply buchu kimchi, buchujeon and soups for many years, so plant it where it can stay.
How to cut
Wisconsin notes that, as with chives, cutting the leaves back encourages new growth. Wait until the leaves are 8 to 10 inches tall, then cut the whole clump 1 to 2 inches above the soil with a sharp knife; cutting single leaves leaves a ragged clump of old and new growth. Established clumps can usually be cut about every 3 to 4 weeks through the season. In the first year from seed, take only light cuttings so the plant can build up its roots. A little compost or balanced fertilizer after each cutting keeps the regrowth thick.
Flowers and seed
In late summer to early fall, garlic chives send up 2- to 3-foot stalks topped with white, star-shaped flowers that bees and butterflies visit. The flower buds are edible. The trouble comes afterward: Wisconsin says the plant self-seeds very readily and can be invasive under some conditions, and NC State Extension suggests deadheading, or growing it in a pot, to limit the spread. Cut the stalks as soon as flowering finishes, before the black seed ripens. Seedlings that do come up are easy to pull while young, before they form bulbs.
Divide every few years
Over the years a clump gets crowded, and the leaves come in thinner and fewer. Wisconsin recommends lifting and dividing clumps about every 3 years to keep them vigorous. In spring, as new growth starts, dig up the clump, pull or cut it into pieces of several bulbs each, and replant them about 8 inches apart in full sun and well-drained soil. A division gives a usable harvest sooner than a plant started from seed.
New plants and winter care
From seed, start indoors about 8 weeks before your or sow outdoors around your last frost, and expect only light harvests the first year. Once established, Wisconsin notes, garlic chives tolerate heat, cold and drought well. Soil that stays waterlogged over winter can rot the bulbs, so avoid low, wet spots. For leaves in winter, Wisconsin suggests a plant and bringing it indoors.
Growing it again? When to plant garlic chives (buchu) for your ZIP code
Growing it again? When to plant chives for your ZIP code
- When and how should I harvest herbs for the best flavor?Harvest herbs before they flower — leaf essential oil concentration peaks right before flowering, and leaf production tends to decline once the plant shifts energy to seed production.
- How do I keep perilla (kkaennip) from taking over my garden?Cut off perilla's flower spikes before the seed ripens, and pull volunteer seedlings while they are small. One plant can drop more than 1,000 seeds, and the seed can stay alive in the soil for several years, so one missed fall shows up for several springs.
- How do I save seeds from my garden plants so they'll grow true next year?Open-pollinated and heirloom varieties come true from saved seed; hybrids do not — and after selecting and fully drying seed, cool, dark, dry storage is one of the biggest factors in how long it stays viable.