Comfrey

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Cornonthecob, Aug 4, 2006.

  1. Cornonthecob

    Cornonthecob Junior Member

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    I've finally had luck growing comfrey from root cuttings!

    Yes I know it's easy.....is now, wasn't before! lol

    But I've also planted a few comfrey seeds...more to see if they would grow. And grow they are...at the moment I'm looking at 30%+ germinating and hopefully more will pop up soon.

    Has anyone else growm comfrey by seed?

    :)
     
  2. Richard on Maui

    Richard on Maui Junior Member

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    Well done Corny. I have never done comfrey from seed before. Will be interested to hear how fast it establishes compared to vegetative reproduction. I have found that the crown "divisions" seem to make the strongest plants quickest, compared to the slower development of root cuttings.
     
  3. lillypilly

    lillypilly Junior Member

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    we had 3 germinated last year they had differnt flowers (white ones) and flowered later then the root cuttings. leaves seemed to be softer. success rate 10% we got the seeds from diggers club.
     
  4. Cornonthecob

    Cornonthecob Junior Member

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    My seeds were from Eden Seeds....will let you know the end germination rate.

    :)
     
  5. hedwig

    hedwig Junior Member

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    I grew them by seed but it is slow and a low germination rate. Ans I'm not really shure if all plants are Comfrey (my garden is somewhat chaotic)
    Some are upright perhaps 40 cm high and others are just rosettes on the soil. I read that the plant tend to be weedy, but in my garden at leat not at all, I fond it a bit difficult to grow.
     
  6. FREE Permaculture

    FREE Permaculture Junior Member

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    My seeds struck well but only 2 survived transplant,
    the've grown not so good and have died back in the cold i s'pose.
    But my borage is going great! it's blue flowers have just started and they look fantastic.

    Borage itself is similar to comfrey and works in the same way in composts or liquid fertiliser, but my chooks go nuts on borage but not on comfrey, apparantly borage is good in a strawberry patch and bees like 'em too and they look amazing in flower so all round a ripper.
     
  7. Jez

    Jez Junior Member

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    Nice one Corn. 8)

    Yep, same here Richard.

    As far as I'm aware, borage only really provides potassium in any significant quantity and apart from that its main benefit as a compost additive is that it grows fast and breaks down fast due to its high water content.

    Comfrey on the other hand provides a full range of NPK (nitrogen content higher than cow manure), plus calcium, iron and sodium.

    I'm more than happy for anyone to correct me on this or add to it, but I would suggest that borage is not really comparable to comfrey as a compost additive or for a liquid fertiliser.

    But it is a fantastic strawberry companion, a great attractant for pollinators and a great plant all round.
     
  8. Batz

    Batz Junior Member

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    Off topic a bit but thanks to a fellow poster my comfrey is growing well (from root stock) I notice the chooks love it,is it ok for them to eat?

    Batz
     
  9. dryland dweller

    dryland dweller Junior Member

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    its a tonic for chooks, a good compost activator and good to make a tea from for the garden. Soak in a bucket for 10 days or so then use the brew on your vegies.
    A note of warning keep it in its own area as it will spread easily to other areas of yor garden
    Pete
     
  10. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    Re: Comfrey

    The seed is most probably officinalis.

    The one normally grown by HDRA is Russian Comfrey which is sterile.

    Still all comfreys are great to grow.
    There are some pretty ornamental varieties.
    I think the flowers, though small are beautiful

    It is probably important to keep going some of the different varieties of comfrey in Australia as many have different properties.
    The HDRA in England has them all sorted. but we don't
     
  11. Cornonthecob

    Cornonthecob Junior Member

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    Have had a whole two seeds germinate out of 120 so far. Am still hopeful more will pop up!

    :)
     
  12. Cornonthecob

    Cornonthecob Junior Member

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    9/120 and counting! lol

    :)
     

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