![]() |
Borage |
![]() |
Starflower |
Plant Habit: | Herb/Forb |
Life cycle: | Annual |
Sun Requirements: | Full Sun Full Sun to Partial Shade |
Water Preferences: | Mesic Dry Mesic Dry |
Plant Height: | 20 to 40 inches (50-100 cm) |
Plant Spread: | 16 to 28 inches (40-70 cm) |
Leaves: | Fragrant Other: can irritate skin |
Flowers: | Showy Fragrant Other: edible, used in ice cubes |
Flower Color: | Blue Pink White |
Bloom Size: | Under 1" |
Flower Time: | Late spring or early summer Summer Late summer or early fall Fall Late fall or early winter |
Uses: | Culinary Herb Medicinal Herb Will Naturalize |
Edible Parts: | Flowers |
Dynamic Accumulator: | K (Potassium) Si (Silicon) |
Wildlife Attractant: | Bees |
Resistances: | Drought tolerant |
Propagation: Seeds: | Provide darkness Depth to plant seed: max. 1 cm Suitable for wintersowing Sow in situ |
Pollinators: | Bumblebees Bees |
Miscellaneous: | Tolerates poor soil |
Maybe you've been considering the addition of edibles to your garden, but you aren't willing to give up the beauty that only flowers can provide. The solution: Grow edible flowers! This list of edible flowers can easily be grown in your garden. In fact, some of them might already be growing there.
(Full article • 9 comments)
(18)
Posted by Mindy03 (Delta KY) on Mar 25, 2012 4:18 PM Valuable source of nectar and pollen for honey bees. Honey produced from this nectar is light amber in color. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by Ispahan (Chicago - Zone 6a) on Jun 30, 2012 8:03 PM One of my favorite plants to grow for bees and other pollinators. I love the fuzzy foliage and intense blue of the flowers. I hope this plant reseeds for years to come. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by Catmint20906 (Maryland - Zone 7a) on Aug 23, 2014 6:54 AM Borage (Borago officinalis) is a larval host plant for the Painted Lady Butterfly. A native of the Mediterranean, its leaves are cultivated for borage seed oil, which has a variety of medicinal uses. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by SongofJoy (Clarksville, TN - Zone 6b) on Dec 17, 2012 8:05 AM An added advantage of planting borage is that Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui) caterpillars love it. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by Bonehead (Pacific NW - Zone 8b) on Sep 29, 2013 11:43 AM Beautiful true blue flower, bee magnet. Self-sows freely. Dip blossoms in egg white then sugar and let dry, very pretty for cake decorations. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by canadanna (North Texas - Zone 8a) on Apr 29, 2012 11:34 AM It is supposed to go well with tomatoes. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by zuzu (Northern California - Zone 9a) on Feb 7, 2014 7:07 PM Borage reseeds so generously that it comes up reliably in every part of my garden. Fortunately, it's easy to pull out of the spots where it isn't desired. It serves as a veritable magnet for the bees, and I appreciate and make good use of this feature, allowing it to grow undisturbed at some distance away from my fussier plants, which I can then tend to my heart's content without disturbing any bees. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by RavenCroft (Central NY - Zone 5a) on Jan 20, 2014 5:57 PM While many tout the bee attracting blooms of Borage, the leaves are tasty to humans, & wonderful in salads. They have a cucumber taste to them. I love the vivid blue color of the flowers, & I also love to see where it will pop up next. Borage is a free roamer here. :-) [ Reply to this comment | |
piksihk | On May 15, 2017 | Bloomed |
piksihk | On March 1, 2017 | Plant emerged several seedlings/self-sowed |
piksihk | On June 6, 2016 | Plant Ended (Removed, Died, Discarded, etc) two got root rot - too much rain!!! |
piksihk | On April 18, 2016 | Bloomed Westgate one is blooming |
piksihk | On March 26, 2016 | Transplanted 2 plants HW; 1 at WG |
piksihk | On March 12, 2016 | Obtained plant 3 plants- |
piksihk | On November 7, 2015 | Plant Ended (Removed, Died, Discarded, etc) |
piksihk | On April 15, 2015 | Seeds sown wet towel & baggie |
piksihk | On February 1, 2015 | Seeds germinated |
piksihk | On January 17, 2015 | Seeds sown |
piksihk | On January 7, 2015 | Obtained plant |
Catmint20906 | On June 20, 2015 | Bloomed |
Catmint20906 | On May 31, 2015 | Seeds sown |
vbprog | On April 19, 2015 | Transplanted To a bigger pot. |
vbprog | On April 9, 2015 | Plant emerged |
vbprog | On April 2, 2015 | Seeds sown |
lovesblooms | On February 24, 2018 | Seeds sown winter sown |
lovesblooms | On March 18, 2016 | Seeds germinated |
lovesblooms | On March 7, 2016 | Seeds sown winter sown |
lovesblooms | On January 29, 2015 | Seeds sown winter sown |
flaflwrgrl | On April 15, 2015 | Seeds germinated At least the ones down by the gate germinated. Haven't looked at the others today. |
flaflwrgrl | On March 27, 2015 | Seeds sown Direct sown. |
flaflwrgrl | On March 27, 2015 | Seeds sown Direct sown. |
thomas | From February 20, 2017 to March 31, 2017 | Bloomed |
thomas | On March 19, 2016 | Transplanted |
thomas | From February 15, 2016 to February 19, 2016 | Seeds germinated container seeds sprouted first |
thomas | From February 6, 2016 to February 7, 2016 | Seeds sown Both in containers and in the ground. |
LizDTM | On September 25, 2017 | Seeds sown |
Thread Title | Last Reply | Replies |
---|---|---|
'Borage & the Bee'...... by wcgypsy | Jun 6, 2013 7:16 AM | 0 |
Yay! by chelle | Jul 25, 2015 6:37 PM | 1 |
pollinator plants by Trish | Jun 22, 2017 2:44 PM | 7 |
ID this? by RaesijO080 | Apr 21, 2017 5:40 PM | 3 |
WANTED: Bee forage seeds by TomPNW | Jul 14, 2017 3:59 PM | 16 |
Garden Chat and Photos by Catmint20906 | Jan 2, 2016 11:47 AM | 3,043 |
New data field: Dynamic Accumulators by dave | Jul 28, 2014 9:00 PM | 3 |
Threats to Honey Bees by Mindy03 | Mar 14, 2014 9:12 AM | 6 |
Fall/ winter plants by sheryl | Dec 18, 2011 10:49 AM | 110 |