A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Growing Comfrey

I just got a comfrey plant. I've never tried growing it before, and what little info I can find isn't very helpful....one sight says full sun another says partial shade. So...which is it? And how hardy is it? I'm in zone 6b/7a, and I'm probably going to grow it in a large pot.

Comfry should be here shortly...it's her fave..(obviously)...wait to hear from her..she'll tell u all u need to know.

I used to have comfrey, but am concerned about all the warnings from the FDA about it.
Stern warnings about the dangers of eating it, and about using it topically.
There's alot of info about the dangers of comfrey on the web.
I was going to get some again, and use it only on cuts and scrapes, but now they are saying that it can get into a person systemically. Argh !

BTW, where did you buy the comfrey? We can't get it here anymore, no one will carry it.
I read also that soon there will be penalties to nurseries who continue to sell it.
BUT CIGARETTES ARE OK TO BUY???????????????

I got it at a local nursery. I've seen it at other nurseries here in Knoxville as well. I used to be the RFC for General Nutrition Center and we weren't aloud to sell it as a suppliment either.

What are you going to use it for? Just curious.
I used to snip the young leaves on beans.
And wrapped a leaf around a cut and bandaged it.
Comfrey is high in allantoin.
Maybe aloe vera will be next.... sigh..... :rolleyes:

I am in zone 5 and it does fine here. My comfrey gets about 4 hours of sunlight a day and grows just fine. I dug up some and gave to my mom. Hers gets more sunlight and is a little bit taller than mine. However I still get a good crop of leaves in the partial shade where they are located. The patch was there when we bought the house.

I use mine as fertilizer for my veggie garden. The leaves make a good mulch that release nutrients as they break down. You can also make a tea out of it that is good as a liquid fertilizer. My veggies love it. If you cut it down after it flowers, you can get it to come back 3 or 4 more times before the winter.

Jen

Ok I'm here....Comfrey will grow like a weed if you allow it to, plant it where ever you want it to stay, because if you decide to move it will be impossible to get all the roots and it will reappear in that same place next year. It is very Hardy and you should have no problems with it growing in your area Alan....It will do fine in full sun or partial shade, but during hot dry spells...it requires a LOT of water, so plant it where it will be easy for you to water. Comfrey loves manure, even fresh will not harm it, it will grow and thrive when you add manure. It has pretty purple blooms that the bees love late in the summer. Even though there are FDA warnings about the use of this plant, If used properly I believe it does more good then harm, besides it is not against the law to grow it in your garden...The plant in my signature button is a plant from my own garden last year. Also once your plant gets big and unruley...just give it a hair cut and cut it back and it will come back out again in the same season.

Yep, I miss comfrey ! (The herb).
It's OK to grow it, we just can't get it retail anymore in most areas.
Comfrey, what do you do with yours? Food, medicine?
I'm interested !
BTW, have you ever read a great book by Dorothy Gilman called, "A Nun in the Closet" and another titled, "A New Kind of Country" ? These both mention comfrey. Great reads too.
Gilman wrote the wonderful Mrs. Pollifax series.

I actually got it because I think it's an interesting plant...large leaves and pretty blue flowers. I doubt if I will ever harvest any of it. I volunteer at the University Gardens here and they have a HUGE comfrey plant...it's obviously been there a while.

It is a wonderful addition to any garden bed, It does take up a large area and will grow in any soil, So it is the right plant to use to fill in that problem area you just can't anything to work out in. My first plant was given to me as a house warmer gift about 12 years ago, I didn't know a thing about it until I researched everything I could find, It was my special plant because a dear friend gave it to me, I have always kept one going all of this time, I do use the leaves to make a healing salve for my own use, It works wonders on dry rough garden hands that refuse to wear gloves.

I don't use gardening gloves either. I like to feel what I'm doing, like not injuring a root ball while lifting.
I bet your hand cream works so well because of the high allantoin content.

Yes Deborah...It works wonders on dry rough hands. I have a friend who uses the samething as a face cream and has for years. She has dry problem skin and it keeps her face in nice looking condition, of course the base is olive oil, so that also is good with the comfrey. I have three large plants that I tranplanted last fall and where I transplanted them from there are about 4 smaller plants coming up from root pieces that I missed or broke off while digging it up.