annual > BORAGE
IN THIS GUIDE
BORAGE GUIDES
As an attractive border industrial plant , enticer of pollinator and herb for salad and drinking , borage is a versatile and vibrant add-on to any garden .
Also make out as bitterweed or starflower , borage isa hardy herbthat ’s easy to arise , great for encouraging biodiversity and attractive for its colorful blossoms .
Most variety are annual , mean they ’ll complete their entire life rhythm within a exclusive season , but there is a perennial interlingual rendition of tailwort that also yields good results in a backyard showing .
It ’s a huge favourite among the bee and butterfly , seduce it a neat option to institute in among other herbs , fruits and veggies since it will raise the chances of pollination .
“ Borage is so pop with pollinator because it produce so many peak that are resource - rich , ” concord to RHS Master of Horticulture Colin Skelly .
“ These flowers supply tumid amounts of nectar that is re - filled rapidly when consumed and is accessible to hatful of pollinators .
“ you’re able to always hear a good pollinator plant because of the Harkat-ul-Mujahidin of feeding pollinator – take heed next prison term you ’re in the garden and discover out which plants in your garden pollinators are making a bee - line for ! ”
Although Borage is not as illustrious or as commonplace as other herbs likebasil , mintandthyme , Borago officinalis is a superb culinary condiment in its own right wing .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun or Dappled Shade
ExposureExposed or shelter
Height0.1 – 1 M
Spread0.1 – 0.5 M
Bloom TimeJune – October
PreferredMost grease types ( except unamended heavy remains )
MoistureMoist but well drain
pHAny
All parts of the industrial plant ( debar the root ) can be harvested and eaten , imparting a cool and refreshing flavor to intellectual nourishment and potable that are resonant of cucumber.1Borage formula . ( n.d . ) . BBC Food . recall March 28 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/food/borage
Its efflorescence are most commonly used to garnish drinks or infuse teas , while its leave can add zip and zing to salad , sandwich , dressings and side dishes .
With so many attractive attributes , then , it ’s little curiosity that borage has quite an illustrious account .
Common Borage Varieties
Most borage varieties are annual , which mean that they will die out within a single twelvemonth , though many arevery practiced at self - seeding .
On the other mitt , there are some cultivars that are perennial .
Although the inflorescence season of these is mostly shorter , they do last for several age or more .
Here are four of the most vulgar varieties to choose from :
The most widely useable borage variety , Borago officinalisis also the most popular among UK garden .
It ’s an annual capable of growing up to 60 cm in sizing and boasts star - form flowers of a brilliant blue air in summer .
An offshoot of the common tailwort potpourri mention above , this grows to a similar height and also has blue efflorescence , though these are of a soft chromaticity .
Its distinctive lineament is the white mottling on its leave-taking .
Sometimes lie with as white borage , this is a somewhat sturdier specimen than the two mentioned above which blooms afterward in the yr .
Its biggest difference , however , is the white of its flush .
The Latin name of this recurrent strain of borage show that it ’s smaller than its annual brethren , grow to around one-half ( 30 cm ) their size .
It has a creeping use and enjoys a poor life , but will come back again every twelvemonth .
Deciding which type of tailwort you prefer in your margin and backyard displays will depend primarily upon whether you ’re looking for a recurrent or an annual , what sizing plant you wish for the quad available to you and whether you ’d prefer risque or snowy prime .
How To Grow Borage
It does assert upon exposure to the sunshine , however , so verify you implant it in a spot that receives sunlight for at least one-half of the day .
Soil Requirements
Thankfully , Borago officinalis is an unfussy plant that will produce in most dirt type with little in the way of fertilisation or sustainment .
The plant dead hat waterlogged soil , so if your garden is specially boring draining , you may like to set up the country with fine - grit or crushed rock .
It prefers soil that is n’t particularly productive , so there ’s unremarkably no need to add any unreal additive to its planting environs .
mulch with organic matter is not strictly necessary , but will for sure encourage a wide and larger plant .
Sowing
Ideally , you should seed tailwort on the button where you bid it to flower , since it does n’t take too kindly to transplant .
It can do by a potted environment if that ’s preferable , though you should check that you select a pot large enough for its roots to produce and spread – that means at least 30 centimetre in diameter and 25 cm in profundity .
The best time to sow yearly tailwort seeds is in mid - leap ( April / May ) , though a second sowing is potential later on in the season .
Perennial borage source will also perform best when planted at this prison term , but are more forgiving if put into the earth at any other time of the year .
The plant is quite effectual at ego - seeding , so if that ’s something you wish to encourage , simply leave the faded bloom on the plant .
If not , take away them as soon as they have finish blooming and collect the seeds for replant the next year .
To plant , just cut into out a little hole 1.5 cm rich and place a unmarried seed in it , then cover over with moist soil .
Space out your run-in 30 centimeter apart and once the seedlings have begin to bust through and hand a tiptop of around 5 centimeter , reduce them out to ensure there is at least 30 atomic number 96 between them .
If they maturate any nigher together , their foliage can begin to modernize symptoms of mould , as zephyr drive will be restricted .
Plant Care
As alluded above , borage is invariably a hardy and stress - free plant to grow – it ’s even been sleep together to thrive in rubbish dumps and at the sides of route and highways !
Watering & Feeding
Borage is from the Mediterannean , so it copes with dispirited rainfall but might need to be top up with your own water in times of drouth or dryness .
If growing indoors in a container , it will require frequent irrigation , which could even mean daily watering during summer .
The same proceed for its eating habits – fertilizer do not need to be used unless you ’re growing it in a can using memory board - bought compost .
Deadheading
As for maintenance , annuals do not need any pruning whatsoever .
recurrent variety may demand occasional paring back during the tiptop of the warmer month .
Having said that , both will benefit from undress away faded flowerheads to promote further growth of more flowers during summertime , though it ’s not stringently necessary .
Deadheading will keep the plant going to seed so make indisputable this is something that you wish to prevent .
Composting
Once the flowering season of an annual has run its course , simply excavate up the whole plant by its source and utilize it as compost for the following time of year , as the food - rich farewell will enhance impregnation of the soil next fourth dimension around .
If you are go to use the plant as compost , be sure to remove its come head first , however , or you could presently retrieve Borago officinalis popping up all over the garden !
Harvesting
The leaves and the flowers are the parts of the plant most unremarkably harvested for culinary purposes , both of which should be plucked in the morning after the dew has dry out , but before the sunlight has reached its full posture and made either wilting .
The leaves loan themselves well to spice up salads and dressing with a refreshingly cucumber vine - like pizzaz .
or else , you may sauté or pale them as you would with other leafy greens like wampum and spinach plant .
If you wish well to utilize them as dried flavorer , simply hang them in an airy room for a solar day or two , or else pop them in the oven for 10 mo .
dry leaves also work well as a table salt replacement .
They act especially well when freeze into chicken feed regular hexahedron , which is a great way to conserve them if you have too many .
Common Problems
In worldwide , borage is a lively agriculturalist that wo n’t succumb to many pests or blights .
However , there are a handful of possible exit you should be aware of , including :
As name above , mildew is a drain consequence of planting borage plants too close together .
gratefully , it ’s ordinarily solved with ease – simply space the seedlings at least 30 cm apart to allow plentiful airflow beneath .
Watering it at the base of the stalk rather than onto the leaves can also help .
Otherwise know as smutty bean aphids and attic leaf aphids , blackflies have been known to have their heads turned by borage foliage , too .
In itself , this is n’t purely a problem and should n’t queer the survival of the plant ; in fact , it can really be a blessing bydistracting the pest from noggin crop .
These tiny creepy - crawlies are about as furred as they are unfussy and they ’ll happily feast on any low - lying foliage they come in across .
In pragmatic terms , that mean that encountering them on borage plant life mean they ’ll probably be gobbling up other produce too , so command them with neem fossil oil .
This pest causes more modest foiling than all - out desperation , usually concentrate its attacks on a unmarried part of the works rather than the whole thing .
Its larvae do more hurt than the actual butterfly stroke , though neither are too severe .
Deter it with sticky traps or natural insecticide .
Flea beetles amount in a variety show of different form , all of which make love to eat at through the leave of absence of tailwort industrial plant .
Though they do n’t do too much damage beyond the cosmetic in mitigation , if you get an plague , it can lead to more serious problems .
Clean up fallen leaf and other detritus to take away their habitat in late autumn .
