![]() It’s very pretty in flower, but it’s even better as a foliage accent through the growing season, with a wide creamy yellow stripe on each grayish green leaf. Variegated sweet iris has been in full bloom for about a week now, with relatively ordinary blue-purple blooms that offer one special feature: a great grape-popsicle scent. (Yes, yes, I know the rules say that you shouldn’t plant variegated plants right next to each other, but I do think these two work.) I’ve been saving up a few of my current favorites to share with you, starting with the two above: variegated sweet iris ( Iris pallida ‘Variegata’ also sold as ‘Aureovariegata’) on the left and ‘Axminster Gold’ comfrey ( Symphytum x uplandicum) on the right. This is the standard way to take care of comfrey–when it finishes flowering and starts to keel over, cut it down and use the leaves for any of the multitude of applications comfrey leaves are good for, or simply lay the leaves back down on the crown of the plant and let it grow back through its own mulch.Ah, so many neat plants, so little time. ![]() It works very nicely to mulch the plant with straw, other high-carbon mulch, or even its own leaves, cut from the plant and laid back down around the crown. How to care for comfrey plants: Keep the planting reasonably well watered. Some species of animals prefer the leaves fresh while others prefer them wilted. Has been used for pigs, sheep, goats, poultry, cattle, rabbits, horses and more. Rich in silicon, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, iodine and more. Feed to other plants as powder, direct mulch or by steeping chopped Comfrey leaves in water for several weeks to produce a thick, dark liquid that can be diluted with water and applied to plant roots.Īnimal Fodder - Comfrey has a long history for use as a protein-rich (22-33% protein), nutrient dense feed which increases health. Ground Cover - With it's large leaves and dense growth, comfrey will help halt the advance of unwanted weeds.įertilizer - Comfrey leaves contain a great balance of major plant nutrients (N,P,K) with about 17% nitrogen (horse manure=14%) and 2 to 3 times more Potash than good barnyard manure (much more than most other compost). Parasitoid Wasps and Spiders will hunt on and around Comfrey. Lacewings are said to lay eggs on Comfrey and Spiders overwinter on the plant. When cutting the leaf mass and applying to the soil surface the mined nutrients are returned and again made accessible to shallower rooted crop plants.īiodiversity - The bell shaped flowers provide nectar and pollen to many species of bees and other insects from late May until the first frosts in late Autumn. The nutrients - once taken up from the roots - are relocated throughout the plant as and where needed with some of them ending up in the Comfrey leaf mass. Mineral Miner- Comfrey has deep roots of up to 6 feet that utilize nutrients deep in the subsoil that would otherwise wash away with the underground soil water or remain inaccessible to other plants. Locate Comfrey next to each of your fruit trees or near your garden in order to have a renewable source of mulch just where you need it. The plant grows rapidly after each harvest. The plant is excellent for producing mulch and can be cut from 2–5 times per year depending on how well the plants are watered and fed. Incredibly effective at stopping the bleeding, reducing the pain and healing of wounds.īiomass - Comfrey produces large amounts of foliage from late May until hard frosts in October or November. Comfrey has been reported to promote healthy skin with its mucilage content that moisturizes and soothes and promotes cell proliferation. Poultices were made for external wounds and tea was consumed for internal ailments. The Greeks and Romans commonly used Comfrey to stop heavy bleeding, treat bronchial problems and heal wounds and broken bones. Medicinal Use - Comfrey has been cultivated, at least, since 400 BC as a healing herb. In fact, it grows so readily from root divisions that it is not recommended to run your rototiller over these plants as you will likely create quite a colony! This cross renders the plant sterile which is a good thing because it would otherwise spread rapidly out of control! It is however easy to propagate as it readily grows from root divisions. Russian comfrey is a naturally occurring (not GMO) hybrid of Russian Symphytum asperum and European Symphytum officinalis. An herbaceous perennial flowering to 3 feet, Comfrey is probably one of the most useful and beneficial plants you can grow! It produces gorgeous, large, fuzzy green leaves that continue to erupt all season from the root crown, and gentle nodding purple flowers that provide nectar adored by bees.
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