# Borage in the Southeast



## MikeinCarolina (Mar 9, 2014)

I am looking for some tips on growing it - I just bought some seed and would like to get a couple hundred foot row growing - have read conflicting information online and of course between the sandy soils and extreme heat and humidity in the summer here in SE North Carolina, none of that may pertain. Any help would be welcome even if you dont grow it in my area but know about it.


----------



## Trinae (Jul 11, 2015)

I'm in the Puget Sound and grew it from seed last year. It took off in my garden mix soil and the bees love it. I did find I should never had placed it in my veggie garden since it reseeds very well. It tripled in size, I also now have it growing all over my yard, so also transferred very easily. I think having a dedicate growing area would be great. I know it is much hotter there than here so not sure how long the life cycle would be compared to the length of ours here. Enjoy the bees really go crazy over it.


----------



## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

I grew them for the last 3 years. The blue is strong, growing fast but the white will take over my yard if I let them. Do you have the blue or the white type?
The secret is to control their seeds because they will drop as they ripen on the plants. If you don't control the seeds then they will reseed all over and grow. So it has the potential to be invasive. It is invasive! I spent the whole Spring and early summer trying to get rid of them from my garden. Planting them in the garden is a no, no because they are too aggressive to take over.
They grow best in the compost soil with a dripper system installed. In your growing environment it is better to have some clay soil or compost to retain some water as they are very heavy feeder. And responded to nitrogen very well. One plant can grow up to 4' across and 3 feet high. I have to contain them with a nylon rope so that they will not spread out that much and will tipped over when I don't strap them in. The seeds that fell on the ground will sprout when in contact with the moisture. Now I had collected enough seeds, I don't want to grow them in my garden anymore. They do grow like the weeds here even though we have highs in the 100F in a semi-desert environment. If I can grow them here you certainly can there. The key to your success is the moisture (water) that they like a lot in the hot summer time. 


Some Borage pics, enjoy:


----------



## Terry C (Sep 6, 2013)

Well , if I can get some to sprout here , I'd LOVE to see it take over the power line easements . The biggest problem here is the summer dearth , having borage blooming into July/August would be great . I scattered some seed around , but it may have been washed away in the torrential rains we've had . Along with the yellow clover and several others . I think I'll scatter some more in late fall so the winter freeze/thaw can help it get down into the soil .


----------



## MikeinCarolina (Mar 9, 2014)

Thank you for the pics and information Beepro and Trinae - I think I have the blue seed -I have about 72 plants started in a seed tray and once large enough will try to get it to take in the garden. Like Terry C, I am looking for something to help during the long summer dearth


----------



## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Be very careful where you put them in the garden. Once established thousand of seeds will
take over your garden every year. They are consider invasive here! The trick is not to let the seeds to
touch the ground. That is hard to do when trying to contain a single 4' x3' plant. Put a manual timer on
a dripper system will help a lot with the watering on the hot summer days.


At least I tried:


----------

