The Looks Like Chives Conundrum

[craftymarie]

It's been puzzling me for a while now - we attempted to grow sunflowers quite late on this year in a large tub but none came up. Instead we got something else growing which is now quite large - about 16 inches / 40 cm high.

It looks exactly like chives because of the long green stalks which fan out somewhat. However it doesn't have any scent and OH said it doesn't taste of anything either.

We checked the chives at the local garden centre and they have quite a strong scent. This plant has no scent - at least we can't smell anything. It hasn't flowered so just has these chive like stalks.

I like it because it looks quite ornamental but would love to know what it is. Sorry I don't have any photo right now but are there plants that look just like chives do but are not?

[veggiechicken]

^^^^ Grass?

[craftymarie]

It doesn't look like any grass blades I've ever seen? It has that rounded thick stem shape exactly like chives do - so if you chopped it up you get little circles.

[Lumpy]

Any chance of a pic?

[Martin H]

Could be some sort of rush, their leaves are often round and hollow?

[bramble]

The grass conundrum

Does it look like this?

[veggiechicken]

Are the leaves quite stiff and upright - or soft and floppy?

[Greenleaves]

Dont feed birds near by do you?

[craftymarie]

Bramble - mine look finer than that and not as upright.

VC- the leaves/stems are not stiff they are more floppy, kind of drooping over into a nice curved shape towards the top.

Greenleaves - yes I feed birds in the garden. We have had stray things pop up before in the garden out of nowhere but normally I have an idea of what they are.

I will try and get a photo tomorrow. Thanks for the help so far

[seasprout]

I'm worried your eating daffodil tips..

[craftymarie]

OK I took some photos this morning so really hope this helps to identify this mystery plant.

[Scarlet]

Looks like chives to me.

[craftymarie]

That's what I thought too, Scarlet. I must have got a strain of chives that neither smells or tastes like them then - obviously not a very good one!

[veggiechicken]

What compost was in the pot? New or old stuff.
Just wondering how the "chives" could have grown there if you don't grow them elsewhere in the garden and haven't sown seeds of chives before

[craftymarie]

I had new compost in the pot as we sowed some sunflower seeds which never germinated. We were waiting for them to come up and this started growing instead - my daughter thought it was a sunflower ha ha but I said it didn't look anything like one!

No I haven't grown chives in the garden so it doesn't make sense to me at all. I have grown lots of things from seed this year including some free packs of wildflower seeds that OH sent off for but I don't suppose they would have had chive seeds in. Weird.