Chia: how to grow Salvia hispanica in the garden and as microgreens

You can grow chia even from seeds from your kitchen. We explain when to sow it, how to care for it, why it flowers only in autumn here and how to sprout it as microgreens.

In brief: Chia (Salvia hispanica) is an annual sage from Mexico and Guatemala. You can grow it even from seeds bought at a grocery shop: raise seedlings in April and plant out after 15 May. However, it flowers only when the days are short, here in September and October, so the seeds usually do not ripen before the frost.

Latin name	Salvia hispanica, Lamiaceae
Life cycle	annual, does not tolerate frost
Raising seedlings	from mid-April at 18–22 °C
Planting out	after 15 May, spacing 40–50 cm
Height	around 1 m
Flowering	only when the day is shorter than about 12 h, here in late September and October

Everyone knows chia seeds from the kitchen. Less well known is that they grow into a sturdy herb with fragrant leaves and blue-violet flower spikes, similar to the sages we have in our beds. Chia can be grown here without any problems; it is just good to know in advance what to expect from it.

In the garden it is a pretty annual for bees and an interesting addition to the herb bed. In our climate you will mostly not harvest your own crop of seeds. On a windowsill, chia is useful as a quick microgreen that you can have on your plate in a week to ten days.

Why chia flowers late in the Czech Republic

Chia is a short-day plant. It starts to form flowers only when the day shortens to roughly 12 hours. In its home in Central America this happens in autumn, when it is still warm. In the Czech Republic the day shortens to this length only in the second half of September, so chia sets its flower spikes in September and flowers in late September and October.

After flowering the seeds still need several weeks to ripen. In the meantime the first frost arrives and scorches the plant. That is why chia is grown as a seed crop in the tropics and subtropics, and in our conditions it is more of an ornamental and experimental plant.

Way of growing	When	What you get	Difficulty
bed outdoors	May–October	a fragrant herb up to 1 m, late flowers for bees	low
large pot or window box	May–October, moved into a cool room in autumn	longer flowering, a chance of a few ripe spikes	medium
greenhouse or polytunnel	April–November	the best chance of ripe seeds	medium
microgreens on a windowsill	all year round	tender shoots in 7–10 days	low

Seeds for sowing: are those from the kitchen enough?

Chia sold as food usually germinates well, because it is not roasted or otherwise heat-treated. Nobody guarantees germination, however; it varies by batch and age. Before you start sowing, do a simple test:

Place a folded paper towel on a small plate and moisten it.
Spread 20 seeds on it, cover with a second plate and leave at room temperature.
After 3–5 days, count the seeds that have germinated. If at least 15 have, the batch is fine for sowing.

During the test you will notice that the seeds form a transparent mucilage around themselves. This is a natural property of chia and does no harm; it only affects how you sow.

Raising seedlings and planting out step by step

Timing: from mid-April. Earlier makes no sense, as the seedlings would become leggy on the windowsill.
Sowing: into a seed tray or small pots with seed-sowing compost, 2–3 seeds per cell. Just press the seeds in and cover lightly with 2–3 mm of compost.
Germination: at 18–22 °C; mist the compost with a spray bottle rather than watering from a can, otherwise the mucilaginous seeds stick together and shift. They usually emerge within a week.
Thinning: leave the strongest seedling in each cell.
Hardening off: from the beginning of May put the seedlings outside during the day and bring them back in at night.
Planting out: after 15 May, once there is no risk of light frosts, in a sunny spot in free-draining soil. Spacing 40–50 cm, as the plants spread sideways.

Direct sowing in the bed is possible in late May, but the plants then have an even shorter season. A method for raising other annuals can be found in the article Annuals and biennials.

Care during the summer

Sun and warmth: chia wants full sun; in shade it becomes leggy and flops.
Watering: established plants tolerate drought better than overwatering. Water only when the soil has dried out to a depth of several centimetres.
Feeding: ordinary garden soil is enough. If overfed with nitrogen, it grows into leaves and flowers even later.
Pinching out: if you pinch out the tip of a young plant at a height of about 20 cm, it branches and flops less. Tie tall plants in a windy spot to a stake.
Pests: young seedlings attract slugs, and in summer aphids may appear on the tips.

Chia leaves are aromatic, like those of other sages. How the related common sage is grown is described in the article Sage.

Flowering and seed harvest

If you want to try your own seeds, grow chia in a greenhouse or in a large container that you carry at the end of September into a bright, cool but frost-free room. The spikes flower gradually from the bottom up, and the tiny blue-violet or white flowers are visited by bees and bumblebees.

Harvest the spikes when they turn brown and dry. Cut them off, leave them to dry fully in a paper bag, then shake out and sift the seeds. Bear in mind that the crop from a few plants will be more for the next sowing than for the kitchen.

Chia as microgreens

The most reliable way to use chia at home is as microgreens. The mucilaginous seeds are not suitable for a sprouting jar, where they stick together and rot. They are grown on a flat surface:

Scatter the dry seeds in a single layer on a sprouting tray, a shallow tray with damp kitchen paper or an unglazed terracotta dish. Do not soak them beforehand.
Mist the surface gently; within an hour the seeds form mucilage and cling to the base.
For the first 2–3 days keep the tray covered, then put it in the light at 18–22 °C.
Mist 1–2 times a day; the base must neither dry out nor stand in water.
Harvest after 7–10 days, when the shoots are 3–5 cm tall and the seed leaves have opened.

The general method for sprouts and microgreens, including how to deal with mould, is in the article Microgreens and sprouts – how to start in a week.

What to watch out for

Frost: even a light frost scorches chia. Do not plant it out before mid-May.
Overwatering: in heavy, wet soil the roots rot, especially in young plants.
Mix-up of names: in America, Salvia columbariae is also called chia. The seeds in shops, however, are Salvia hispanica.
Seeds in the kitchen: eaten dry, they swell only in the body, which is why chia is prepared soaked in advance, for example as a pudding.

Frequently asked questions

Can chia be grown in the Czech Republic?

Yes, as an annual from May until the first frosts. It grows well but flowers only in September and October, so the seeds mostly do not have time to ripen outdoors.

Will chia seeds from a shop germinate?

Usually yes, as food-grade chia is not heat-treated. Check germination with a test on a damp paper towel: of 20 seeds, at least 15 should germinate in 3–5 days.

When should chia be planted?

Raise seedlings from mid-April and plant out after 15 May. Direct sowing in the bed in late May.

Why does my chia not flower?

Chia flowers only when the days are short, here from September. Until then it grows only leaves. Overfeeding with nitrogen and shade delay flowering even more.

How do I sprout chia seeds?

Not in a jar. Scatter the dry seeds on a damp dish or terracotta, mist 1–2 times a day and harvest shoots 3–5 cm tall after 7–10 days.

Is chia a perennial?

No. It is an annual that dies after the first frost. It is sown again every year.

Sources

Updated: 27 September 2026

Author: Jana Vránová, the editorial pen name of the Pěstík.cz team. She writes about the garden, herbs and essential oils. We take safety and dosage information from specialist literature and official sources, which we cite in every article.