Borage
Borago officinalis
Certified Organic
Gerard the Herbalist, one of the earliest garden bloggers of the 1500s, wrote, "The leaves and floures of Borage put into wine make men and women glad and merry and drive away all sadnesse, dulnesse, and melancholy Syrup made of the floures of Borage comforteth the heart and quieteth the phrenticke and lunaticke person." All useful ideas! But you could also follow the advice of our more modern garden sages and freeze the flowers in ice cubes to make your lemonade look pretty.
One of the most popular edible flowers, borage's star-shaped blossoms have a pleasant cucumber-like flavor. The fuzzy, silvery-green foliage is festooned with small, bright flowers, which can be used to decorate cakes, salads, and drinks. This blue-bloomed cousin of Comfrey has medicinal properties and attracts beneficial insects.
Ships within 2-3 business days
Couldn't load pickup availability
Growing instructions
Product Details
| Days to Maturity | 50 days |
|---|---|
| Days to Germination | 7-14 days |
| Width at Maturity | 12" |
| Height at Maturity | 18-24" |
| Hardiness Zone Range | Annual |
| Sun Conditions | Partial Sun (4-6 hours Sun), Full Sun (8+ Hours Sun) |
| Planting Depth | 1/2" |
| Row Spacing | 12" |
| Plant Spacing | 12" |
About the artist
Loved growing borage this year! Good germination rate. Seemed to tolerate a variety of conditions.
Came up quickly with almost 100% germination. It was growing great until the groundhogs got to it, so watch out for those critters!
Beloved by bees, especially bumble bees. These flowers are extremely easy to grow (fantastic for the new gardener) and bloom for a long time (they bloomed right until the killing frost). They do reseed easily, which I love, but if you don't want them to reseed simply deadhead (remove old blooms). I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked, but Borage is a lovely blue and interestingly, I even saw a couple of pink flowers in the mix. This is a great option if you are a vegetable gardener and want to bring in pollinators. Handle with care; gloves recommended-they are a prickly plant.
Students at Stetser Elementary School in Chester, PA, planted borage around the tomatoes in their school garden and we did not have any tomato horn worms this summer. Also, they love the violet colors of the flowers. Now we will plant borage each spring in this school garden.
First time growing Borage Produces a large and lovely plant attracting many bees.
These beautiful plants were the result of just six seeds. The bees, butterflies, other pollinators and I loved these gorgeous plants. They will definitely once again be in my garden this year.
Borage is a very large plant which surprised me! The bees love it and it reseeds very nicely. Takes a while to start blooming but then blooms for a very long time.
I sowed seeds in late summer and had great germination. Plants grew quickly with beautiful blue flowers that are a bee magnet. Very happy with this purchase!
Just received the seeds, planted and wait for them to start sprouting. Very fast shipping
Good growth rates. The bees loved it.
Love the artwork. Love the seeds.
My first order…beautiful!
SO many blooms
We directed sowed the seeds end of May and now can't keep up with all of the blooms in July. Excellent germination and lush, beautiful plants. Very pleased. Also, the bees LOVE them! There should be a place for borage in every garden.