Permapotes

Borage

Borage: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar

Common borage, Borago officinalis, is an annual plant in the Boraginaceae family. It is recognisable by its hairy leaves and star-shaped flowers, which are usually blue. Its loose, branching habit gives it a natural appearance in herb gardens and flower borders. It combines ornamental interest with flowers visited by pollinating insects, particularly bees, rather than being valued only for a culinary association.

The leaves are simple, oval to more elongated, with a surface covered in stiff hairs. The stems are hairy too. This texture distinguishes borage from many smooth-leaved herbs and explains the rather coarse appearance of its foliage. Plant size and density vary with conditions; common borage does not always form a small, neatly compact clump. Its outline changes as the branching stems develop.

Flowers appear in loose groups on the branching stems and often face downwards. The five lobes of the corolla form a star around a darker centre. The contrast between this centre and the blue petals contributes to their distinctive appearance. The variety Alba has white flowers. This change in colour does not make common borage a different species or alter its annual life cycle.

Borago pygmaea, by contrast, is another species: a lower-growing perennial with a more spreading habit. It should not be described simply as a dwarf variety of common borage. For the annual species, plants developing from seed are a new generation. Self-sown seedlings can explain its reappearance in a garden without meaning that the original plant survives year after year. Flowering periods vary with sowing and climate.

Borage flowers feature in traditional culinary uses, including garnishes for salads and drinks, with a flavour often compared to cucumber. Their star shape and colour also give preparations visual interest. These uses do not establish that every part of the plant is harmless and do not justify attributing therapeutic properties to it. An ornamental or traditional role is different from evidence of food safety.

Borage contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The leaves should not be presented as a tea to drink because they contain high levels of these substances. Traditional use does not guarantee safety. In the garden, textured foliage and nectar-rich flowers provide interest without a promise that borage automatically protects neighbouring vegetables from pests.

Borage
Borage
Characteristics
  • Lifecycle : Annual
  • Exposure : Partial Shade
  • Frost Hardiness : Frost Sensitive
  • Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
  • Mature height : 60 cm
Sowing & Planting
  • Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
  • Sowing Depth : 1 cm
  • Plant Spacing : 30 cm
  • Row Spacing : 30 cm
Maintenance
  • Maintenance : Moderate
  • Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
  • Soil Type : Humus-rich
  • Soil pH Preference : Neutral
  • Pollination : Insect-pollinated
  • Propagation : Sowing