Borage plant, Borago officinalis – sowing and care

Borage leads a rather dreary existence in Germany as “Gurkenkraut”, although it is a fairly important enrichment of the pickling liquid. Nevertheless, he is misjudged. It can add a fresh note to salads, transform a simple glass of sparkling wine into a fairytale drink, and it is a versatile herb and medicinal plant. That is why the Borago officinalis used to be found in every cottage garden. After all, it has been cultivated in Central Europe since the late Middle Ages. At some point the borage fell into oblivion, completely undeservedly, but it is surely time to give it a place in our gardens again.

Underestimated borage

Borage really does a lot more than just float around in pickle pickle liquid. Our ancestors knew this for a very long time. The borage plant, originally native to the Mediterranean region, was introduced to northern Europe as early as the late Middle Ages. After first being cultivated in France, borage eventually made its way to Germany. It is still known today as part of the famous Frankfurt green sauce. It is documented that Borago officinalis was often cultivated in cottage gardens in the 16th century. So common that it fled gardens and became wild in some regions.

Borage is usually an annual (see below for exceptions), but it is quite a stately one. A plant can grow up to 60 cm high per season. It develops large, bristly leaves and strikingly beautiful, bright blue flowers.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Borago officinalis contains a lot of interesting ingredients, potassium salts and tannins, silicic acid and mucilage, which is why borage flowers and borage leaves were used in folk and natural medicine in the past. They were considered draining, sweat-inducing, anti-inflammatory and anti-irritant substances, which were also said to have a slight calming and antidepressant effect.

Today, recommendations for (permanent) internal use are more reserved, since borage contains various alkaloids. However, the external use for healthy and beautiful skin and the use of the decorative blue flowers for all kinds of food garnishes remain interesting.

Borretsch appearance

As already mentioned, the normal borage is one of the annual herbs, so it is grown from seed every year.

Sowing is not a big problem, borage grows willingly. As with other fast-growing annuals, sowing borage makes more sense than buying young plants. Borage grows so rapidly that by the time the seeded borage is already harvest size, the young plant would have just become accustomed to its new environment.

If you want to sow completely natural seeds that are neither genetically modified nor chemically treated, you should use organic seeds from controlled organic cultivation. Incidentally, these naturally grown seeds are no more expensive than the industrial goods, quite the opposite, for 25 seeds you pay around €1. A few cents more for organic seeds, but the single portion also includes 1.5 g, with indication of the thousand grain weight, with borage almost 100 seeds, for an area of ​​10 square meters.

You can sow the borage directly in the intended spot in the garden in (late) spring. The heat-loving plant would like to be assigned a sunny location. The soil should be fairly moist but well-drained. You don’t need to hide the attractive borage in a corner. It can also be placed in the middle of a perennial border.

Since borage belongs to the dark germs, the seed must be well covered with soil. More precisely, well covered with soil in a layer of 2 cm. The germination behavior is determined by a so-called phytochrome. A protein that the plant developed during its evolution. In borage, this protein has evolved in such a way that the seed with 2 cm of soil above it receives exactly the light that causes the seed to germinate.

When this is done, the seedlings should appear after 6 to 12 days.

cultivation in the house

Of course, you can also do the whole thing as a preculture on the windowsill, then from the beginning of March. Then you can transplant well-developed plants into the garden in May. Which is more advisable depends on whether you live in a rather mild climate or whether you like late frosts.

If you prefer, you can use the soil in which the young plants will later be planted for the seed pots. Only exotic species that cannot cope with the microorganisms in our soil need special germ-free seed soil. A native plant like borage would tend to weaken such soil. It should better get used to the influences of its future home soil right away and gain strength in asserting itself against the microorganisms it contains.

Location Ideas

As I said, Borago officinalis likes the warmth of the Mediterranean coast, so it claims the corners of the garden that are most advantageous for many plants.

That’s why you don’t have to do without beautiful flowers in the garden for a rich borage harvest. You can also put the borage, which also blooms very beautifully, in a flower border.

Or you simply redefine the borders in the central visual axis of your garden and design a decorative bed with utility value. Annual or biennial garden herbs with similar requirements to borage are basil, dill, chervil and coriander; the drier areas of this bed or the outer edge where the soil dries faster can be covered with summer savory and fragrant marjoram. All of these herbs grow well to the knees and develop an abundance of flowers, white and purple and blue, in umbels and in panicles.

You can also add flowering perennials, whose flowers you can also use in the kitchen. Bluebells and mallows, marigolds, cowslips, hollyhocks and violets, for example.

Borage as a garden helper

Borage is a deep root that you can use as green manure. Its roots can tap nutrients from fairly deep soil layers.

It’s also a good companion plant for cucumbers and zucchini (and other insect-pollinated vegetables). It attracts insects with a trick: its blue flowers have so-called sap markings, which are as visible to insects as the lighthouse on the coast is to us.

Borage is also said to protect legumes, spinach, cabbages, and strawberries, helping them grow. He should also support tomato crops by preventing the mother animals of the tomato hawk moths from laying their eggs on the tomatoes.

Care: exemplary frugal

As far as one’s needs are concerned, borage seems to be an example of the fact that there are also species with helper syndrome in the plant world. It does not need soil enriched with any nutrients, regular garden soil (even lean) will do. It needs no fertilizer, it would still grow even with very little sun and no water supply other than the natural one from above. Typical Mediterranean herbs, they were not exactly spoiled during their development and are used to grief (poor = nutrient-poor soil, too much sun, often drought).

But feel free to pamper your borage. It is equipped with an unusual leaf size and fullness for southern herbs, which you can still encourage. Pampering means watering when it is very hot and dry and maybe adding some organic fertilizer (be careful, some organic fertilizers such as manure could affect the taste, it is better to use plant broth).

But don’t overdo it, even borage will have a hard time in over-fertilized soil. If you value a high content of essential oils, the borage should be kept short.

species and varieties

Borage belongs to the genus Borago, one of around 150 genera with around 2750 species from the borage family. This “borage family” is also known as the “borage family,” suggesting that borage is a prominent member of its family. With the exception of comfrey (natural aspirin), which is also underestimated, the borage family has plenty of plants with strange names to offer; sometimes conspicuously friendly (Heavenly Herald, Spring Navelnuts, Forget-Me-Nots, Wellstedia, Solstice, Tufted Beauty), sometimes conspicuously discriminating (Ox Tongue, Hound’s Tongue, Adder Bugloss, Hogweed, Ox Tongue, Field Crooked), all occasionally cultivated, but otherwise hardly anything interesting.

In his family, borage is definitely a star, in his genus anyway. It is the only Borago that is widely cultivated. Overall, the genus Borago consists of five species:

  • “Our” Borretsch, Borago officinalis
  • Borago trabutii, only grows on the Atlas Mountains in Morocco
  • Borago longifolia, only grows in northern Algeria and Tunisia
  • B. morisiana, found only on the island of San Pietro, SW Sardinia
  • B. pygmaea or laxiflora, an interesting borage for lovers of permanent plants, you can get this perennial borage in good herb nurseries. It grows a bit more delicate and short and fits well in small gardens (needs winter protection), pots and balcony boxes.

Two varieties of Borago officinalis are available:

  • Borage, Borago officinalis: “Regular” borage with blue flowers and leaves for salad
  • White flowering Borago officinalis, also annual, beautiful flowers glowing in the moonlight

harvest

If desired, cut off as soon as the leaves are strong enough, the flowers at the moment of opening.

propagation

Happens by itself if you wish. Just leave a few borage plants in the bed after the flowering period and leave them alone, then the borage will self-seed and appear by itself next year.

Borage: the alkaloids and essential oils

In addition to the beneficial ingredients mentioned above, Borago officinalis also contains various pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

An alkaloid is a secondary (plant) substance for which there is still no precise or binding definition, but what the alkaloids have in common is that they somehow affect animal and human organisms. Usually not very cheap, such as the notorious ergot alkaloids or bufotenine, the famous toad venom of the tropical cane toad, morphine and strychnine are also included.

But also solanine (potato, tomato), caffeine (coffee), capsaicin (chili) and theobromine (chocolate), which shows that you can survive alkaloids. Those in borage too, although the pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which have not yet been extensively researched, are primarily known for killing grazing animals from time to time.

There are currently no maximum level recommendations or controls for borage in salads or for other pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food. The Federal Health Office has set a limit of 1 µg per day for use up to six weeks and 0.1 µg per day for use over six weeks for phytopharmaceutical products with pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Borage contains only small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, between 1 and 15 µg per kg of fresh produce (= 100 g of dried borage in the source: www.plantresearch.de/de/journal/journalbeitrage/das-gift-von-der-wiese-pyrrolizidine-alkaloids- food mi-10149). In order to get to the minimum amount of 0.1 µg for long-term use, you would have to eat 100 g of borage (approx. a standard rocket salad) per day. Sensitive people should be careful with the leaves and not consume liters of Frankfurter Grüne Sauce.

The flowers are said to contain fewer pyrrolizidine alkaloids, while borage seed oil contains none at all. Borage seed oil is used as a herbal medicine and dietary supplement in alternative therapies against neurodermatitis. It is generally said to be good for the care of inflamed and scaly skin.

Conclusion
A few borage leaves in the salad could make it more interesting and probably won’t hurt you. Borage blossoms can really look great as a decoration. Anyone who has tried unsuccessfully with the care of inflammation-prone, dry, scaly skin will certainly put on a few borage leaves. You can also simply plant the borage in your flower bed and let it grow and bloom there. He is always an asset to the home garden.

Kira Bellingham

I'm a homes writer and editor with more than 20 years' experience in publishing. I have worked across many titles, including Ideal Home and, of course, Homes & Gardens. My day job is as Chief Group Sub Editor across the homes and interiors titles in the group. This has given me broad experience in interiors advice on just about every subject. I'm obsessed with interiors and delighted to be part of the Homes & Gardens team.

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