Comfrey which one to grow ??

[Grub]

Hi All


I will be planting Comfrey at my New Apiary site

I have been offered some roots of bocking 14 aka Russian comfrey and I have been told doesnt set seed ?? or plants of Comfrey officinale that does set seed and that could spread if not kept under control.

Which one is more useful to bees as in nector and pollen or is their no diffrence ??


Grub

 

[RoofTops]

Bocking 14 is a variant of Russian Comfrey and is the one normally grown by organic gardeners. Therefore, if you are growing this to make tomato fertiliser, for example, that is the one to go for. It was the variant developed by Lawrence Hills: http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=87

I have some in a patch and the only bees I see working it are bumbles.

 

[xgeordie]

"I have some in a patch and the only bees I see working it are bumbles."

ditto - my bees don't bother with it.

 

[Cazza]

"I have some in a patch and the only bees I see working it are bumbles."

ditto - my bees don't bother with it.

Agreed.
I have several varieties and only bumbles visit them.
Cazza

 

[tonybloke]

I have some in a patch and the only bees I see working it are bumbles.

 

[Woeski]

Don't bother with Comfrey. throw some borage seed about. It is an annual but seeds itself all over the place so you will never be without.
Slugs don't really like it, neither do the deer (at least not in my garden).
I don't have rabbits so can't comment. But the bees love it and I had flowers going from May to November last year (but I have it all over the place). I've had it in my garden for about ten years.

 

[hailtryfan]

The borage at my allotment has self seeded several years on the trot and is a magnet for honeybees throughout the summer and into autumn, only finally giving up the ghost with the first frost.

 

[drstitson]

you propagate comfrey by the roots so no need to worry about setting seed.

 

[RoofTops]

Borage is a great bee plant but it will be difficult to remove if you ever wanted to. Farmers found this out when they grew it as a crop, although this seems much less common these days. Someone told me the reason once, it was to do with lack of demand, but I can't remember the details.

 

[RoofTops]

you propagate comfrey by the roots so no need to worry about setting seed.

That would be the sterile Bocking 14 I guess.

 

[susbees]

We do have our bees on the comfrey - the patch is about ten foot by forty and they don't always use the nectar-robber bumble bee holes.

HOWEVER we've been trying to move and restrict this crop for years. Without success.

Borage - after the success of the trial plot tucked behind a tin shed last year but in action every half-nice day from June to November we're putting in a 75 sq m plot and a couple of smaller ones including white borage.

 

[BBG]

Comfrey - pigs love the stuff. Section off and keep a couple of porkers on it - soon get dug up.

Not for overfeeding so caution.