Chive Germination

[Urban Ayisha]

How long do u reckon chive seeds would take to germinate at this time of year? I've had them on a shelf under a skylight window since last tuesday (so 10 days) and nothing is happening. Am i being too impatient? I dont remember it taking this long before but maybe thats because I sowed them in the spring rather than the summer...

[Michelle]

I remember ours taking quite a while last year as I ended up buying a chive plant and then they germinated after all!

[ina]

Mine have seeded themselves all over the place - so I always thought they must germinate quite easily!

[Jules]

Mine germinated fairly quickly. I suggest you try another tray of them. Keep the other ones and keep an eye on them though.


I would wonder if they are getting enough light - chives need lots of light to germinate.

[1810ss]

Chive seed can take a couple of weeks to germinate. One thing to be wary of is that chive seed, like all other alliums, is not long lived and easily damaged by environmental conditions, so needs to be stored dry and cool, and should be sown ASAP.

[Millymollymandy]

Maybe that may explain my problems with spring onion germination the last two years, if the seeds are not long lived. Mind you I have been trying to grow seed that was only bought last year and has been kept dry indoors since. Anyway am trying again with seed I've only just bought!

[1810ss]

You could try keeping it in the fridge (dry it first in a dessicator with silica gell or similar) or leave the open pack in the fridge, then after a few weeks seal it in a plastic lunch box or similar - do this bit very quickly as cold seeds out of the fridge will attract moisture. Whatever you do, alliums will only last a few seasons, so just sow them thicker if they are older.
I keep all my veg seed dry and in the fridge, and most species last for years- if you store it correctly then in general you can ignore the seed company statements about 'once it's open use it up' as that's got something to do with wanting you to buy more......
Greg

[Millymollymandy]

I'd need to buy a new fridge!!! I have sown spring onions really thickly at times when I have tried and tried and not had much luck, but still nothing!

I'm now sowing them (brand new seed) in window box type of pots into commercial potting compost and still I only got 5 White Lisbon from about 30 seeds, although Elody all germinated. The problem is that I couldn't find Elody anywhere when I was recently in England. Have bought some more, Ishikura that I've grown before and another with a Japanese name, but they've only just been sown, so will wait and see.

It can't be a problem with my soil because I grew them successfully the first 2 years that I lived here, it's only last year and this year that I'm having a problem. Tres bizarre.