A fast-growing annual herb bearing vivid blue star-shaped flowers and cucumber-scented leaves, valued by pollinators and kitchen gardeners alike.
Borago officinalis · also called starflower, bee bread
Windows are counted from the average date of your last spring frost.
Borage flowers and young leaves add a mild cucumber flavor to salads, drinks, and garnishes. Its prolific blooms attract bees and other beneficial insects across a long season, making it a practical companion in any kitchen garden.
A little history. Native to the Mediterranean region, borage is a coarse-stemmed annual covered in stiff white hairs. Its nodding blue flowers are among the few truly blue edible blooms in cultivation, and the plant self-seeds reliably once established.
Sow seeds 0.375 inch (10 mm) deep, and aim for 12 inches (30 cm) between plants once thinned. Sow seeds 1/4–1/2 inch deep and keep the seedbed evenly moist until sprouts show; borage dislikes transplanting, so sow in place. Seedlings emerge in 5–14 days.
Water deeply once or twice a week; reduce frequency once plants are established and growing vigorously. Water when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. Aim for about 1 inch per week including rain.
A single side-dress (scatter fertilizer along the row and water in) at planting is usually sufficient for the season. What to use: low-nitrogen balanced compost or a 5–5-5 organic granular; excess nitrogen promotes leaves at the expense of flowers.
Pinch out the growing tip when plants reach 12 inches to encourage branching and more flower stems. Deadhead (remove spent blooms) regularly to extend the flowering period and reduce unwanted self-seeding.
It's ready when harvest individual flowers as soon as they are fully open and vivid blue. Pick young leaves — no larger than 2–3 inches — before the surface hairs become coarse and bristly. Pinch individual flowers at the base of the corolla (the ring of petals) with thumb and forefinger. Snip young leaves with scissors close to the stem. Harvest in the morning after dew has dried for best flavor.
Use flowers immediately — they wilt within hours of picking. Young leaves keep 1–2 days wrapped in a damp paper towel in the refrigerator. Freeze flowers in ice cubes for longer storage.
Sow a second batch 3–4 weeks after the first to maintain a continuous supply of young leaves and fresh flowers through the season.
Tomato
Borage blooms almost nonstop and pulls bumblebees into the bed. Tomato flowers set fruit on their own, but the vibration of a visiting bumblebee shakes pollen loose and can improve fruit set on stubborn early trusses.
Zucchini
Zucchini carries separate male and female flowers and depends on insects to move pollen between them. Borage flowering nearby reliably draws bees into the patch, which reduces the shriveled, unfilled young fruit that follows poor pollination.
Strawberry
Each strawberry needs many separate pollen deliveries to swell evenly. Bee traffic drawn by borage often reduces the lopsided, hard-shouldered berries that come from incomplete pollination. Keep borage to the bed edge so it does not shade the crowns.
Cucumber
Standard garden cucumbers need bees to carry pollen from male to female flowers. Borage in bloom draws steady bee visits, which shows up as straighter, fully filled fruit rather than pinched or curled ones.
Cabbage
Borage flowers feed hoverflies, lacewings, and tiny parasitic wasps, and these hunters often reduce aphid and caterpillar numbers on nearby cabbage. Borage also hosts cabbage loopers itself, so check its leaves when you scout the cabbage.
Fennel
Fennel roots release compounds that stunt most garden vegetables and herbs, borage included. Grow fennel in its own corner or a separate pot, where its flowers still feed hoverflies and tiny parasitic wasps without checking the growth of neighbours.
Easy-going — Borage can grow almost anywhere in the rotation without a strict rest.
The pea and bean family, the cabbage family or the tomato family thrive in this ground next season.
An easy-going light feeder that takes little from the bed and leaves loose, well-worked soil behind, plus plenty of self-sown seedlings to pull. Wait one year before borage returns to the same ground. Peas or beans, cabbage-family greens, or tomatoes and peppers all follow well.
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