Description
Allium schoenoprasm
Herbaceous perennial with mild onion flavour. Cultivated since the Middle Ages and often used in French and Swedish cuisine. The plant is rich in Vitamins A & C, calcium and iron, has a beneficial effect on the digestive system and the blood circulation, improves the appetite, is digestive, hypotensive and tonic. It has similar properties to garlic (A. sativum), but in a much milder form. Chive leaves can be chopped or snipped and used to flavour salads, egg dishes, baked potatoes, fish, soups etc. They can also be added to softened cream cheese or butter to make an oniony spread.
Said to be a good companion plant for roses, preventing black spot and repelling aphids), carrots (making them larger and sweeter) beet, and apple trees (preventing black spot). However it should not be grown near legumes. The purple flowers in late spring-summer can be eaten raw in salads and are fantastic for bees – in fact chives were rated in the top 10 for most nectar production (nectar per unit cover per year) in one UK plant survey.
Height to 45cm when in flower, dying back completely in winter (unlike garlic chives).
Certified organic plant in 9cm pot.
