Borage — Flowers

Borago officinalis

Full sun, light watering — hardy through cold winters.

Photograph of Borage — iNaturalist / GBIF

Sow: Apr
Plant out: May
Harvest: Jun
In flower: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep

Sun: Full sun
Water: Low
Difficulty: Easy
Hardiness: H5
Season: summer
Height: 50–100 cm
Spacing: 50 cm
Pets: Safe around pets
Bee friendly: Bee friendly

Grows well with

Cucumber — Borage is listed as a good neighbour for cucumbers, pulling in bees for the flowers and predatory insects for the pests.Strawberry — A two-year field trial put borage and other flowers in a strip beside strawberries: the further the plants were from that strip, the fewer pollinators and the lighter the berries. Borage is also said to keep pests off the strawberries.

Growing notes

Grows to 0.5-1 metres. Space about 10-50cm apart. In flower Jun-Sep.