Plant field guide
Borage
Beautiful herb with striking blue star-shaped edible flowers. Excellent companion plant for the vegetable garden.
Growing requirements
- Scientific name
- Borago officinalis
- Sun
- full sun
- Water
- moderate
- Height
- 18 in (46 cm) – 36 in (91 cm)
- Spread
- 12 in (30 cm) – 18 in (46 cm)
- Spacing
- 12 in (30 cm)
- Hardiness zones & minimum temperature
- USDA 2–11; average annual extreme minimum from -50°F (-45.6°C). Hardiness does not predict local frost dates.
- Difficulty
- easy
Planting & seasonal timing
Northern Hemisphere planting months: not yet verified in our database.
Northern Hemisphere pruning months: no calendar months recorded.
For the Southern Hemisphere, these seasonal windows shift approximately six months. Check your local frost forecast, soil temperature, and species requirements; calendar months are not a guarantee of planting safety.
Self-seeds prolifically. Edible flowers are lovely in salads and frozen in ice cubes.
Pruning
No pruning needed.
Fertilizer
None needed
Grows well in poor soil
Mulch
Not necessary.