Planting borage: sowing, location & companion plants

With its blue, star-shaped flowers, the aromatic and medicinal herb borage is a beautiful addition to any garden. Here is what to bear in mind when planting borage.

Borage (Borago) is a must for any herb garden. There are two main types of borage − the annual common borage (Borago officinalis) and the smaller perennial borage (Borago pygmaea; synonym Borago laxiflora). This tasty herb is not only for humans, it also attracts bees and other pollinating insects with its beautiful blue flowers. In this article, you will learn how to grow your own borage with tips on the right time to plant, the ideal location and care for borage plants.

When to sow borage seeds

Borage is pretty easy-going and does not need to be started indoors. Simply sow the borage seeds directly into your garden bed or planter. The ideal time to sow borage is between mid-April and early May. You can sow borage up until the beginning of July − but no later. If buying young borage plants, you can transplant them around mid-May.

When is the best time to plant borage?

• Direct sowing outdoors from mid-April to the beginning of May
• Sow no later than the beginning of July
• Plant borage seedlings from mid-May onwards

The right location for borage

Borage needs a sunny location. The ideal soil for the herb is loose and moist, but well-draining. Nutrient-rich soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5 is best. Soils that are too firm need to be loosened up before planting and possibly enriched with sand or potting compost. For planting borage, we recommend a high-quality, peat-free soil such as our Plantura Organic Tomato & Vegetable Compost. This is also suitable for planting borage in pots. If planting borage in containers, make sure to choose a pot that is large enough and deep enough to accommodate the plant’s deep taproot.

Where to grow borage?

• Sunny location
• Loose, moist, well-draining soil
• Nutrient-rich soil with a pH value between 6.5 and 7.5

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Sowing borage: instructions

Sowing borage is very easy. Before sowing, the bed in which you want to plant borage should be prepared. Loosen the soil and remove all weeds and stones from the bed. There is no need to form seed grooves for sowing the borage seeds. When sowing, keep a planting spacing of about 40 cm from surrounding seeds and other plants. Keeping this distance will help you avoid having to separate the plants later and, thus, avoiding risk of damaging the taproots with unnecessary transplanting. As the herbs are dark germinators, the seeds need to be covered with soil to germinate. So, place the borage seeds 3 to 5 cm deep into the soil or pile 3 to 5 cm of soil on top of the seeds. Lastly, water the seeds well. Depending on the conditions, the seeds should start to germinate after five to ten days.

Step-by-step instructions: Sowing borage

1. Prepare the bed: loosen soil, enrich with potting compost or sand as required
2. Plant spacing: 40 cm
3. Cover seeds with 3 to 5 cm soil
4. Water well
5. Germination time: about one week
6. Thin out and replant, if necessary, after 4 weeks

Tip: Borage not only tastes similar to cucumbers, but it is also affected by similar plant diseases. Planting your borage plants too close together will make them more vulnerable to attacks by fungal diseases such as powdery mildew (Erysiphaceae).

Caution: Regular, especially excessive, consumption of borage should be avoided, as it contains alkaloids that can be harmful to the liver and possibly even carcinogenic for humans.

Borage companion planting

Borage attracts pollinators to your garden, which benefits its plant neighbours too. The deep-rooted plant gets along particularly well with cucumbers (Cucumis sativus), courgettes (Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo convar. giromontiina), basil (Ocimum basilicum), mint (Mentha spec.) and strawberries (Fragaria spec.). In America, borage is also commonly planted next to tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), as it repels the tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculatus). Borage is less fond of growing next to parsley (Petroselium crispum ssp. crispum), chives (Allium schoenoprasum) or rocket (Eruca sativa). Borage can grow up to 80 centimetres tall − so it easily overshadows smaller herbs.

Care measures

Borage is easy to care for. After sowing, water the plants regularly to keep the soil sufficiently moist. The heavy, sap-rich stems can easily topple over in windy conditions − to prevent this, provide the plants with supports.

As a self-seeding plant, borage can be a blessing and a curse in the garden. If the herb is taking over, and you want to prevent it from self-seeding, just cut back the borage seed stalks before they mature.

Tip: Perennial borage is frost tolerant down to -18°C. If it gets colder than this, cover the plants with fleece or mulch for protection.

Borage is a nutrient-hungry plant. To top up the nutrients in the soil, we recommend fertilising with a slow-release fertiliser such as our Plantura All Purpose Plant Food. This plant-based fertiliser not only feeds the borage with all the essential nutrients, but also provides the soil with organic matter to help keep your soil fertile in the long run.

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Find out the history of borage, how to use it in the kitchen and how to propagate it in our guide to borage.