Comfrey – Symphytum officinale

Comfrey is a large perennial that can reach 1.5 m, with thick, rough leaves. Its bell-shaped flowers, coiled in a spiral before opening, attract pollinators. Its old English name, knitbone, recalls its traditional use on broken bones.

• Botanical name: Symphytum officinale
• Height: up to 1.5 m
• Garden uses: mulch, compost activator, potassium-rich liquid feed, helps seedlings emerge
• Flowering: bells of variable colour, much loved by pollinators
• Natural habitat: cool, damp places, woodland edges, ditches and meadows

In the garden

Sun or partial shade, moist soil. Once established, after two or three years, it needs very little: just make sure it gets enough water at the start. Cut its leaves several times a year for mulch or liquid feed.

The plant you receive

A farm-grown plant raised outdoors at 1,000 m altitude in the Livradois-Forez Regional Nature Park: never in a heated greenhouse, fed with organic fertiliser only and grown following permaculture principles.