Family:  Borage (Boraginaceae)

Hardy to Zones 3 to 9

(True Comfrey) (Symphytum officinalis)  Herbaceous perennial native to Europe. There is a white/cream flowered type and a purple flowered type.  This is the purple flowered type.  The plant grows true from seed. Traditional usage (TWM): Cell proliferation, cuts, scrapes, deep injuries. Source of allantoin, mucopolysaccharides and also potentially toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.  Often recommended for external use only. Commonly employed as a companion plant to orchard trees and as an ingredient in compost tea and compost piles. High in protein, the leaves make a good feed for chickens and pigs, may be added to the feed of all domestic animals, helping maintain good health and weight gain.  Comfrey prefers a full to part sun position with rich, moist, but well-drained soil.  Sow the seed just under the surface and tamp in securely.  Sown directly in warm soils, germination usually occurs within 30 days. A 30 day period of cold, moist refrigeration followed by planting in warm conditions will speed germination appreciably.  Grow the seedlings out in pots for about 3 months, then transplant to the garden.  You can also direct-seed into a fertile bed in the spring, as soon as the soil can be worked.  If you don’t want the plants to spread, then cut them back when they make flowers, and mulch the crowns with the leaves.  This will keep the seed from maturing and dropping, and will quickly improve the soil and contribute to the formation of large, healthy and happy plants.

20 seeds/pkt., Certified Organically Grown