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Growing Borage, also Burrage, Bugloss

(Borago officinalis)

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
                    P P

(Best months for planting Borage in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

P = Plant direct in garden where they are to grow.


  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 10°C and 25°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 20 cm apart
  • Harvest in 8-10 weeks. Use leaves before flowers appear, otherwise they will be 'hairy'. .
  • Compatible with: Strawberry, tomatoes, zucchini/squash. Deters pests from many plants.
  • Borage flowers

A tall, attractive plant, often grown in flowerbeds. Bright blue star-shaped edible flowers. Grow in a sunny spot with well drained fertile soil. Borage dies down in the winter, but probably you will not need to buy any more seeds as it self seeds quite vigorously and spreads around the garden. Luckily, it is so attractive that it adds to the general design.

Will grow almost anywhere but prefers well-drained soil. Can be transplanted when young but older plants do not move well.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Borage

Has a slight cucumber taste which goes well in salads and when cooked with silver beet or cabbage.
The flowers make a pretty drink decoration when frozen in an iceblock.


Your comments and tips

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28 Oct 11, Duncan (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Borage is a dynamic accumulator, which means that it collects and stores a lot of nutrients within its biomass. It sends down a long taproot, extracting nutrients from the sub-soil and massing them within the plant. The easiest way to benifit from this is to simply cut the plant back and use it as mulch. Also, the small leaves and be eaten within salads etc, and the larger ones cooked like spinach/silverbeets. They have a slight cucumber flavour to them. The flowers contain a chemical thought to help prevent cancers, although this could use more research.
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See planting calendar for these countries and climate zones

Australia - arid,   Australia - cool/mountain,   Australia - sub-tropical,   Australia - temperate,   Australia - tropical,   New Zealand - cool/mountain,   New Zealand - sub-tropical,   New Zealand - temperate,   South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical,   South Africa - Humid sub-tropical,   South Africa - Semi-arid,   South Africa - Summer rainfall,   United Kingdom - cool/temperate,   United Kingdom - warm/temperate,   USA - Central West Coast,   USA - Maritime Northwest,   USA - Mid-Atlantic,   USA - North East,   USA - South East and Gulf States,   USA - South West,   USA - Upper Midwest  

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.

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