#garlicchives hashtag - Bluesky

norio_nomura

@norio-nomura.bsky.social

6 months ago

韮の花 #ニラ #韮 #alliumtuberosum #garlicchives #flower #野に咲く花 #7x #macro #olloclip @ #弥厚公園

2 0 0 0

TKG

@tkg-nc.bsky.social

7 months ago

<Alt Text 1 of 4> Today’s plant of interest is one that does escape captivity and thus there is a fair chance you might find it in the wild. The plant is question is a member of the Allium genus under the Amaryllidaceae family. The scientific name of this plant is Allium tuberosum and it is commonly known as Garlic Chives. Garlic Chives are a non-native plant that is generally considered to be naturalized in North America because they can easily escape cultivation. Some people call them invasive because they produce a lot of seed that can germinate and crowd out other plants. The key to preventing this is to deadhead the flower clusters and the plant is stuck with expanding only by vegetative means and that limits its ability to get into mischief quite a bit. Personally I do not deem this plant invasive because it’s not shown any of the traits that I read about online but that might just be the magic of our sandy soil here in the Carolina Sandhills. <Alt Text 1 of 4>

<Alt Text 2 of 4> Author's Note: Those are totally Carpenter Bees, I get a few Bumblebees out here but I generally see them in the spring, not in September/early fall. . I did mention earlier that Garlic Chives are not native to our part of the world; they originate from the Chinese province of Shanxi, but have naturalized across the world because of their perennial popularity as a garden herb. Garlic chives also come in three primary varieties, Flowering, Yellow and Standard which are called Gau Choy Fa, Gau Wong and Gau Choy respectively speaking. Historically, Garlic chives were a known favorite of Vincent van Gogh and he used them as inspiration for at least one still-life painting created in Paris, France in 1887. Beyond this it’s is knownt hat Garlic chives have been cultivated for at least 4,000 years, as such they spread from Asia to the Middle east via the silk road. At the same time they made their way to Japan and Korea and then to Europe during the 16th century and North America by the 19th century. <Alt Text 2 of 4>

<Alt Text 3 of 4> Garlic Chives botanically speaking are best described as a rhizomatous, clump-forming perennial plant that grows from a relatively small bulb that is largely inedible due to it being fibrous. Unlike a lot of other related members of the Onion genus Garlic chives are distinguished from plain old chives b their flat strap shaped leaves that lack the v-shape of leeks. In our area Garlic Chives are essentially a perennial with evergreen tendencies which makes it great as one can harvest fistfuls of leaves almost year-round. In colder zones such as 7-4b (the northern part of its range as a perennial, it may go fully herbaceous and die back every winter then emerge in spring. The flavor of garlic chives is closer to actual garlic than it is to onions or the mild flavor of Chives which makes it a good substitution. <Alt Text 3 of 4>

<Alt Text 4 of 4> Author's Note: Polka one of the farm's cat's just had to be in this post. She got huffy when I didn't immediately pet her and jumped atop a planter-urn full of Rose Campion that's out of frame to get my attention. The best part about this plant is that it always flowers in late summer through a portion of fall. Its flowers individually are nothing to write home about but with a mature clump of Garlic chives the display of white flower clusters can be quite impressive. Up close each flower has six white petals and a green center, and as seen in pictures one and two, in the early morning you might find your plant full of sleeping Carpenter or Bumblebees. Either way the flowers will attract a bunch of pollinators you’ve probably not seen before and that’s a net win for your garden ecology. The cultural care for Garlic Chives is pretty easy, they require regular watering and monthly fertilizing during the warm months for best productivity. The soil they grow in should been enhanced with a moderate amount of organic matter though plain potting soil spiked with composted manure for potted specimens will do perfectly. As far as I can tell, these plants don’t really wilt unless the soil is very dry and pretty much shrug off our hot humid summers like a professional. Garlic chives also seem to be very good neighbors as the specimen photographed is sharing space with a flowering Tobacco plant and a Snapdragon that has germinated from seeds at random. <Alt Text 4 of 4>

The Wild Harvest Digest: September 2025, #2

Good Morning Neighbors,

Today’s plant of interest is one that does escape captivity and thus there is a fair chance you might find it in the wild. #GarlicChives #Onions #Pollinators