Borago officinalis a.k.a. Borage or Starflower is an annual herbaceous plant that enchants our eyes with its peculiar, but exquisite blossoms. There are very few other plants that resemble the alluring presence of this species, as it comes with a particularly attractive colour palette of vibrant shades.
Borage enjoys lots of popularity in many gardens around Europe, where it keeps reemerging year after year for a long time thanks to its self-seeding habit. In several regions worldwide, people consider this plant an invasive species, often occupying much more space than expected, and this can happen when the plant is left to its own devices. But other than controlling its crazy spread, Borage is a super low-demanding fellow that can steal hearts without putting too much effort into it.
Want to know more about Borage? Keep reading our guide!
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About Borage
- Member of the Boraginaceae family, Borage originates from the Mediterranean region. However, it has naturalized in many other areas.
- In the past, people have cultivated Borage for medicinal and culinary purposes. Nowadays, commercial cultivation of this plant is mainly as a seed oil.
- You can enjoy Borage as a dried herb in various recipes. Likewise, Borage is a nice fresh vegetable with a cucumber-like flavour that you can use as a garnish or in salads. Its flowers have a sweet, honey-like taste and appear most often as a decoration for desserts, cocktails, and even frozen in ice cubes.
- A very interesting fact about Borage is that in Ancient Rome, this versatile plant was used in the wine-making process. Borage wine was considered a tonic that could fortify soldiers before they went to battle. This comes as no surprise as the seeds of borage plants are rich in omega-6 fatty acids so they are also used to make edible borage oil.
- Borage can be a fabulous addition to various landscapes, such as beds, borders, herb gardens, cottage gardens, wild gardens, butterfly gardens, or informal gardens.
- The most attractive companion plants for Borage include Great Blue Lobelia, Cranesbill, Annual Sage, Common Poppy, Cornflower, Chives, Black-Eyed Susan, Purple Fountain Grass, Oriental Poppy, Bee Balm, and Mortagon Lilies. Borage can make a great addition to vegetable gardens and some gardeners think that it can protect tomatoes, spinach, and legumes from pests.
- With its superb flowers that are rich in nectar, Borage is a magnet for different species of pollinators. This plant attracts beneficial insects, butterflies, and even hummingbirds.
- Borage plays a big part in both traditional and modern medicine. This herb is great for skin disorders, stress, rheumatoid arthritis, premenstrual syndrome, ADHD, diabetes, asthma, heart issues, fever, cough, depression, inflammation, and others.
Borage Features: An Overview
- Borage is a plant that grows at a very fast rate. It can reach from 1 to 3 feet (30-90 cm) in height and has a spread of about 9 through 24 inches (22-60 cm).
- Its foliage contains several basal, simple, wrinkled, bristly or hairy, grey-green leaves that show up alternately arranged on thick stems. The leaves can grow as long as 2 to 6 inches (5-15 cm).
- Borage can bloom from early summer through early autumn. During this period, the plant produces abundant open racemes of stunning, slightly nodding, star-shaped flowers.
- Depending on the cultivar, the blossoms can exhibit different vibrant shades of blue, pink, purplish, or white. The blue flowers are genetically dominant over the other ones. They are edible, featuring a cucumber-like taste.
- Although it has an important role in the culinary world, if ingested in high amounts, Borage can become toxic to both humans and animals. For safety purposes, keep your curious kids or pets away from the spot where you grow this plant.
Growing Borage
Borage will thrive in lighting conditions that range from full sunlight to partial shade. Yet, we warmly advise you to provide this plant with as much light as possible. This particular exposure will increase your chances to enjoy a Borage plant that features plenty of blossoms.
When it comes to temperatures, Borage is a hardy companion that can do just fine in cold winter temperatures from the 2 to 11 USDA zones. This plant can also tolerate temperatures that are on the other side of the spectrum.
But even if Borage might seem too good to be true, it will not handle a hard frost very well. Thus, if you live in a region where the winter weather is too harsh, it would be nice to grow your Borage in a pot that you can keep inside during this time.
Borage is an annual species, so you should not be concerned about overwintering it at all. On the other hand, this plant often tends to self-seed and it will give birth to many other Borage specimens until next spring.
In case you do not want to fill your garden with more Borage plants than planned, you should pull the one you have from the ground once the season of interest comes to an end.
The pests and fungal diseases usually stay away from Borage, making this plant a wonderful plant to have around. The only issue you might encounter while growing a Borage would be powdery mildew, but this disease occurs if you grow your plant in improper conditions. To avoid this, it is best to make sure your Borage experiences great air circulation and a suitable watering routine.
- Quality Borage seeds packaged by Seed Needs. Intended for the current and the following growing season. Packets are 3.25" wide by 4.50" tall and come with a full colored illustration on the front side, as well as detailed sowing instructions on the reverse.
- Both Borage seed packets will contain 100 seeds each, for a combined total of 200 seeds.
- Borage is an annual herb that is primarily grown for it's odd, yet beautiful flowers. Both the Blue and White variety of Borage are edible.
- Borage flowers can be added to salads for an extra splash of color. The plants can begin to be harvested in roughly 50 to 60 days.
- All Borage seeds sold by Seed Needs are Non-GMO based seed products and are intended for the current & the following growing season. All seeds are produced from open pollinated plants, stored in a temperature controlled facility and constantly moved out due to popularity.
- Beautiful -- Full color packet of Borage (Borago officinalis) herb seeds; a wonderful gift for the gourmet cook and gardener. Minimum of 1g per packet.
- Indoor or Outdoor - A carefully selected variety that can easily be grown indoors in your kitchen or outdoors in the garden.
- Safe Seed -- Sow Right Seeds has taken the Safe Seed Pledge and sells only Non-GMO heirloom seeds that are safe for you and your family.
- Always Have Fresh Borage on Hand -- Imagine the delicious aroma and flavor of cucumber that fresh borage will add to your salads and sandwiches. Using fresh herbs can really make your cooking smell and taste gourmet.
- Easy to Grow -- Instructions included on each packet with additional growing tips, harvest instructions, recipes, etc. in the “How To” section of our website. Plus we are available to answer your questions as well. If these seeds don’t germinate, we will happily make it right for you.
- Borage, also known as starflower, is a mediterranean herb that has been in use for several thousand years. It is generally grown commercially for its medicinal seed oil, but the leaves add a great, healthy addition to a summer salad. The leaves have a distinct cucumber tastes, either fresh or dried. The flowers are edible too.
- Grown in 2022 for the 2023 season
- 85% Germination
Last update on 2023-07-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Planting Borage
Borage is an ornamental plant that tends to grow and spread at a pretty fast rate. Because of this, it may have a tendency to take up too much space in your garden. This plant typically grows from seed and there are a few chances to find a young or full-grown specimen in markets or nurseries.
Once you have the Borage seeds, we recommend you plant them at about 18 to 24 inches (46-61 cm) apart. You should also sow the seeds at ¼ to ½ inches (0.6-1.3 cm) deep to ensure that they receive enough sunlight to germinate.
The perfect time to plant your new Borage plants in the garden would be in the early spring but only after the last threat of frost has gone. Likewise, you can start seeds indoors about 3 to 4 weeks before the last projected frost in your area.
In general, it is best to have Borage seedlings outdoors in the garden only once the soil has warmed. If you start Borage plants indoors, make sure you harden the seedlings off first, which means you should acclimate the plants gradually to outdoor environmental conditions.
In terms of growing medium, luckily, Borage is an easy-going plant that can do well in a wide diversity of substrates. This plant can even grow just fine in dry soils that do not come along with lots of nutrients. But if you want it to show the best performance out there, you will have to provide yours with a moderately damp substrate that features excellent drainage.
And in case your basic soil is more on the poor side, you can always amend it with some organic matter like compost to spoil your Borage with a nutritional boost.
Fertilizing your Borage will not be mandatory if you are growing it in soil that suits its preferences best. The only case when you should opt for fertilizers would be if this plant grows in poor soil, as this is how you can help it receive the needed nutrients.
Feed your Borage periodically with a good-quality fertilizer designed for edible plants according to label instructions. The product should be low in phosphorous to avoid affecting the flower production of this buddy.
If you do not have a garden, you can grow your Borage in a container with little to no effort on your part. All you need to do is plant it in a pot that measures at least 12 inches (30 cm) in depth and comes with ample drainage holes at the bottom.
The ideal container for a Borage would certainly be an unglazed terra cotta one, as it will help excess moisture to go through its walls.
Since Borage is a plant prized for its flowers, it will surely produce lots of them with time. You can extend its blooming period for several weeks by removing all spent blossoms whenever you notice them.
Harvesting Borage
If you plan to grow your Borage for harvesting purposes, we want to let you in on a little secret – pruning. In mid-summer, you can prune this plant back by ½ to promote new, tender leaves. These young leaves are excellent for a late summer harvest, so you might want to think about it before getting into action.
In general, you must begin harvesting your Borage once it reaches maturity, around eight weeks after you plant it. When you decide to do it, you can harvest both the leaves and flowers, which is super simple overall.
It consists of simply picking off the leaves and blossoms you want using your bare hands or garden scissors. The harvest works nicely consumed fresh, though you can also store it in the refrigerator for a few days.
Watering Borage
Until Borage seedlings settle in their new home, they will require regular watering to keep their soil evenly moist. During their young times, you must water your Borage plants once every few days without turning their growing medium into a soggy one.
The ideal watering technique for Borage is known as the ‘soak and dry’ technique and it works with a lot of ornamental plants. The ‘soak and dry’ technique consists of waiting for the soil of your Borage to dry out completely in-between waterings.
It is important to mention that young plants will usually require more water, but once established, you can apply this method if you want to avoid overwatering your plants.
Propagating Borage
Borage produces lots of seeds which you can collect from the plant to use as a propagation material in the following spring. This method is super simple even for beginners and typically has the best efficiency rate out there.
You can shake the seeds from the Borage flowers once they seem to degrade, then store them in an airtight container until it is warm enough outside to use them. And when the time is right, all you have to do is sow the seeds just above the soil, cover them only a bit with the substrate, and water them regularly to maintain them lightly damp. The seedlings should show up after a few weeks.
Another great way to make more Borage plants would be by using volunteer specimens that tend to emerge around a mature plant once it has self-seeded. If you have a seedling plant that measures at least 6 inches (15 cm) tall in your garden, you can absolutely go for it!
You will need to first dig out that particular specimen without damaging its roots in the process. After this, you can replant the Borage volunteer wherever you want and water its growing medium until it seems damp to help the plant settle in its new home.
In Conclusion
Borage comes along with flowers which we rarely have the chance to see. This feature, along with the easy-going nature of this plant, is what makes this buddy absolutely bewitching and irresistible. Although most gardeners choose to grow the pure species Borago officinalis, this does not mean that the magic ends with this one. You can also look for other cultivars, such as B. officinalis ‘Variegata’ or B. officinalis ‘Alba’, which are just as pretty and low-maintenance as the main species.
Are you growing Borage in your garden? Let us know in the comments!
