Borage

Borage: plant 45 cm (18 in) apart in the row and 60 cm (24 in) between rows, 1 per square. Good neighbours: Tomato, Cherry tomato, Beefsteak tomato.

Key facts

Spacing in the row	45 cm (18 in)
Between rows	60 cm (24 in)
In a 30 cm (1 ft) square	1 per square
Sun	Full sun, 6–8 hours a day
Root depth	40 cm (16 in)
Height when grown	70 cm (28 in)
Crop rotation group	Herbs, flowers and perennials
Support	None needed

Sowing and germination

How it is started	Sown straight into the bed
Seeds per hole	3
Plants kept after thinning	1
Seeds per metre of row	7
Sowing depth	1.5 cm (0.6 in)
Soil temperature	from 13 °C, best 18–24 °C
Days to emerge	7–14 days
Light while germinating	Needs darkness, cover well
Before sowing	nothing needed
When to sow	Indoors 6 weeks before the last frost; outdoors after the last frost; soil at least 13 °C

From seedling to plant

Pricking out	sown where it grows
Takes transplanting	Badly, sow where it grows
Hardening off	7–10 days
Life cycle	Annual
Cold tolerance	Takes a light frost
Soil	Light, sandy, free draining, pH 6–7.5
In a pot	5 L, 20 cm (7.9 in)
Watering	Water when the soil is dry two fingers down
Feeding	Little; at planting
Support and training	None needed; pinch the tips

Harvest and planning

Days to first harvest	50–60 days, from sowing
Ready when	The flowers are just open
Harvest window	Picked again and again, 8–14 weeks
Typical yield	0.2–0.6 kg per plant
Botanical family	Boraginaceae
Watch out for	Aphids, powdery mildew

Good neighbours

Why, with the sources →

Plan Borage in your garden

Open the free planner, drop Borage onto a bed and see how many plants fit.

Start Planning Your Garden

Sowing and harvest

Sow outdoors	Apr–Jun
Harvest	Jun–Sep

My dates for this crop

My country Last spring frost where I live

Give the date once and this page, the sowing calendar and the planner all follow it.

Months for a temperate climate: about a month later in the north and a month earlier in the south. Give your own last frost date for exact dates.

What to plant next to Borage →

From the same family

Plants of the Boraginaceae family share diseases and pests, so they follow each other in the rotation only after a break.

Phacelia

Grown much the same way

Crops that need about the same room and care, from another family.

Sources

The values on this page marked as checked come from these sources: spacing, sowing depth, germination, soil, timing and safety notes, each against the source named here.

Borage (natural products monograph) — Drugs.com for: safety; checked 2026-10-28

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