If you aren’t already convinced to grow borage in your food or ornamental garden, consider all this generous plant has to offer: Borage is a magnet for all the pollinators . In fact, borage lures in bumblebees, wasps, hover flies, hummingbirds & many others.
Some believe that borage makes a great pest lure trap . Borage grows seeds that feeds wild birds. Other reasons to grow borage: Once you plant borage, you will always have it. This annual plant will self-seed itself and pop up in other parts of your garden.
Where do you plant borage flowers?
Borage thrives in a sunny spot and needs a well-drained soil. Because the flowers are so attractive to bees, it’s a useful plant to grow alongside fruit and vegetables to entice more insects to pollinate crops.
One source stated remove faded flower heads from borage plants to encourage more blooms to form. Once flowering has finished, simply dig up and compost borage plants – the mineral-rich leaves will help fertilise soils the following year. Do take off the seed heads before composting plants or you’ll end up with lots of borage seedlings all over the garden.
You could be thinking “Can you eat borage flowers?”
One article stated that borage is an Edible Crop One of the main reasons to grow borage in your garden is as an edible crop. You can eat the leaves, raw or cooked , and the flowers, raw, as a garnish or in drinks. The dried stems can also be used for flavouring, and the seeds yield an oil that is particularly high in gamma-linolenic acid.
This is what I learned. the flowers are generally a deeper blue when the plants are grown in poorer soil conditions. Borage is relatively unfussy when it comes to growing conditions. It can cope with almost all soil types, including soils low in nutritional content . The plant can also cope with a range of soil p. H levels, even very alkaline soils .
What is borage and how do you grow it?
Borage flowers are also used in potpourris or candied for use in confections. Borage can be perpetuated by allowing the flowers to go to seed and self-sow. Pinching the terminal growth will force a bushier plant but may sacrifice some of the flowers. Borage herb is not a fussy plant and has been known to grow in refuse piles and highway ditches .
Then, can you grow borage in a ditch?
One article claimed that borage herb is not a fussy plant and has been known to grow in refuse piles and highway ditches . Be assured you want the plant to regrow annually or remove the flowers before it seeds.
When I was reading we ran into the question “Where does borage grow in the US?”.
Some think that borage is native to the Mediterranean region and has naturalized elsewhere. It grows very well in gardens across Europe and is also common in kitchen gardens across North America . The plant is hairy all over its stems and leaves. The flowers are star-like, with five, narrow, triangular-pointed petals.
When should I plant borage seeds?
Plant borage in the garden in the early spring after the threat of frost has passed. Or start seeds indoors three to four weeks before your area’s projected last frost.