Permaculture Plants: Comfrey

Comfrey is a "must have" plant in the Forest Garden.

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Common Name: Comfrey

Scientific Names:

• Symphytum asperum (Rough/Prickly Comfrey):
• Symphytum ibericum (Dwarf Comfrey): 12-16” tall and wide
• Symphytum grandiflorum (Large-Flowered Comfrey): 8-12” tall, 18” wide
• Symphytum officianale (Wild/Common/Medicinal Comfrey): 3-5’ tall and wide
• Symphytum orientale (White Comfrey): 2-3’ tall, 12-18” wide
• Symphytum tuberosum (Tuberous Comfrey): 1-2” tall and wide
• Symphytum x uplandicum (Russian/Caucasian/Quaker/Blue Comfrey) = natural hybrid of S. asperum and S. officinale: 1-4’ tall, 3’ wide

Family: Boraginaceae (the Borage or Forget-me-Not Family)

Comfrey growing as companion plants to fruit bushes.

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Description:

Comfrey is a fast-growing, perennial, herbaceous, clump-forming plant typically with a deep tap-root (that helps draw up nutrients), large leaves (that can be cut and dropped in place or moved to an area where you want/need those nutrients), and small, pretty flowers (that attract a large number of beneficial insects). It can grow in a wide range of growing conditions. It is an ideal "fertilizer" plant in the Forest Garden.

Symphytum officinale

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History:

• Comfrey is a native to Europe and Asia.
• It has been cultivated since around 400 B.C.
• Used medicinally in China for over 2,000 years.
• First brought to Britain in 1800.
• WIld Comfrey was shipped to North America by English immigrants and Russian Comfrey was shipped to Canada in 1954.

Trivia:

• The name "comfrey" comes from the Latin for "grow together" - even ancient people understood the value of Comfrey!
• Also known as “knitbone” after its traditional medicinal use in assisting the healing of broken bones.

Comfrey's small flowers attract a lot of beneficial insects.

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USING THIS PLANT

Primary Uses:

• Mulch – can be cut 1-2 x per year (4-5 x per year if fertilized) to about 2 inches above ground and used as a green or “chop and drop” mulch. Avoid harvest in the first season.
• Liquid Fertilizer - steeping chopped Comfrey leaves in water for several weeks produces a thick, dark liquid that can be diluted with water and "fed" to plants.
• Mineral Accumulator – high in potassium, but also phosphorus, calcium, Copper, Iron, and Magnesium
• Ground Cover – lower growing species can tolerate some foot traffic, plant 2-3 feet apart.
• General insect (especially bees) nectar and pollen plant
• Lacewings prefer to lay eggs on Comfrey
• Spiders prefer to overwinter on Comfrey
• Parasitoid Wasps and Spiders prefer to spend time and hunt on and around Comfrey

Secondary Uses:

• Fresh eating – only Symphytum officianale (Common/Medicinal Comfrey) and Symphytum x uplandicum (Russian/Quaker Comfrey). Best when cooked.
• Forage crop for pigs, sheep, and poultry, but reportedly cattle and rabbits don't like fresh leaves (only wilted).
• Medicinal – long history of use in aid of wound and bone healing.

Comfrey has medium to large leaves, and some species have tiny hairs on them.

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DESIGNING WITH THIS PLANT

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-9

AHS Heat Zone: No reliable information found

Chill Requirement: No reliable information found, but likely not required.

Plant Type: Small Tree to Medium-sized Herbaceous Shrub (while frost resistant, continued freezing weather will kill back above ground growth).

Leaf Type: Deciduous

Forest Garden Use: Herbaceous Layer and Ground Cover/Creeper Layer

Cultivars/Varieties: Many species/varieties available. 

Pollination: Self-Pollinating/Self-Fertile

Flowering: May-September (depending on the species)

Life Span: No reliable information available

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Comfrey roots are big and deep... perfect to break up hard soil and mine nutrients.

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PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS PLANT

Size: See individual species list above

Roots: Some have rhizomatous and others have fibrous tap roots - deep and expansive

Growth Rate: Fast

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Comfrey's flowers come in a wide range of colors: purple, pink, blue, white, yellow... beautiful!

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GROWING CONDITIONS FOR THIS PLANT

Light: Prefers full sun

Shade: Tolerates light shade (about 50%)

Moisture: Medium, some species can be a bit more drought tolerant

pH: tolerates a wide range (6.5-8.5)

Special Considerations for Growing:

This is a great species to plant under fruiting trees. If you want to “chop and drop” frequently as a green mulch, consider fertilization with urine (yeah… just pee on it!) as a simple way to boost growth.

Propagation:

• Can be propagated through root cuttings in Winter and Spring – should be planted about 2 inches deep.
• Division in Spring.
• Symphytum officianale (Common/Medicinal Comfrey) can self-seed.

Maintenance: Minimal.

Concerns:

• Can be spreading. (Note: the use of "Bocking 14" cultivar is sterile and prevents its spread)
• Can be hard to eradicate.
• Poisonous – all parts of the plant contains pentacylic alkaloids (regular consumption can cause liver toxicity)
• Note that leaves and stems are covered in small hairs that can irritate the skin.

Harvesting Comfrey... pretty easy with such large leaves.

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