Our matured chinese chive plants, complete with onion skin-like sheath at the base of the leaves.

Chinese chives have to be the most neglected herbs in our garden. It was back in 2010 that I received seeds from someone at the GCS Forum and excitedly sowed them in a little recycled bottle-pot that was meant for germinating seeds. When I discovered, from lightly bruising a leaf, that this was the kuchai plant – what I call the “smelly” herb – I lost interest in the plant and it was lost amongst the other potted plants on the back patio.

The first sprout was so tiny that it was almost invisible. Just look at those little root hairs growing on the tap root!

The poor plants that grew from the seeds in that pot have remained in the little container for three years, but they kept growing and multiplying, as you can see from the pictures. They weren’t completely neglected – they were watered and occasionally given liquid fertilizers along with the other plants.

The first leaves were very thin and grass-like.

I’ve kept them around just “in case” we need them. After all, my sister sometimes has a hard time finding kuchai in the market when she makes her famous mee siam, which you must garnish with the fragrant herb.

The chinese chive plants in the little pot, with the flower spike bearing the flowers towering overhead. See it?

So it appears that at least one of the plants has decided that it’s time to complete the cycle of life, and has sent up a new spike that has a little bunch of flowers on it. Person that I am, I’m anticipating harvesting the seeds when they are done. Why? I won’t consume the plant – I just want to grow new plants from the seeds…

A close-up of the chive flowers – small and pretty!

In a nutshell, Chinese chives are easy to grow, and very low maintenance, in my experience.

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