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Comfrey

Symphytum officinale

Boneset

About This Plant

Partial sun. Long-lived and enduring. An herbaceous perennial with a tidy mound of foliage and big, feltlike borage leaves. Like few other garden plants, comfrey is considered nearly indestructible once established, but it will freeze back to the roots every winter. Comfrey was traditionally used as a ‘knit-bone’ and applied to fractures and wounds. In the garden, comfrey is considered a great accumulator of nitrogen and other nutrients, using its deep taproot to transport them to the soil surface where they’re available to other plants, especially fruit trees. It is also used as an addition to compost and liquid fertilizer.

Origins: Europe

Maintenance

Can be cut back as needed after freezes.

A tough, long-lived perennial with many garden benefits.

Min. Height: 2

Max Height: 4 feet

Min. Width: 2

Max Width: 3 feet

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