Comfrey - its history, uses and benefits

Last year I took on a second allotment, giving me space to grow cut flowers and herbs. By a stroke of luck, the plot had some well-established fruit bushes and a few herbs, including what I have now identified as Symphytum officinale or Comfrey.

In the depths of Winter and early Spring it's difficult to identify plants but now, in early May, I have recognised Comfrey plants scattered along the side of the plot thriving in a part shaded area which is ideal as Comfrey should be kept somewhere permanent but out of the way. Once established it is very difficult to get rid of.

The plants have mounds of thick green leaves and beautiful purple bell-shaped flowers which droop down in clusters. It has very robust growth and so can be cut back again and again as long as there is no damage to the crown and the outer leaves can be picked as needed without damaging the plant which will grow again from the centre.

Comfrey is a fully hardy plant which is why it has survived the Winter in my plot. It dies down in Winter but its roots are 100% hardy. It likes some sun with partial shade and is very fast growing tolerating most soil types provided there is good drainage. It needs plenty of space and should be kept away from less vigorously growing plants as it can reach 1.5 metres in spread and height. Comfrey has a long tap root and is excellent at taking in nutrients and storing these in its leaves.

Comfrey is part of the Borage family (Boraginaceae) and there are 59 species in total. It has connections back to folklore and was referred to by the famous herbalists Gerard and Parkinson. Its folk medicine names include boneset and knitbone whilst the Latin symphytum is derived from the Greek symphis, meaning growing together of bones, and phyton, a plant.

Comfrey has been around as a healing herb since 400BC and was used by the Greeks and Romans to stop heavy bleeding, treat bronchial issues and heal wounds or broken bones. Poultices were made for external wounds and tea consumed for internal ailments. It is said that Comfrey promotes healthy skin and if a few leaves are brushed together to remove the hairs and then wrapped around a wound with light pressure it can stop bleeding, reduce pain and heal.

I am always very cautious until I am certain of a plant and care must be taken with ancient recipes and uses of plants. Therefore, rather than be too experimental I have decided to use Comfrey as a mulch and fertiliser - to feed my tomatoes, currants and gooseberries as well as help some of the flowers I have in containers such as pelargoniums and brugmansias.

Comfrey can be mixed with grass cuttings and added to a compost heap but for this to be successful quite large quantities are required.

As I have grown several different varieties of Tomato plants this year I've decided that I will spread Comfrey leaves as a mulch beneath the Tomato plants. This will suppress weeds and retain moisture but also enrich the soil near to the plant roots.

I will also try Comfrey as a liquid feed by filling a container with leaves and then topping it up with water. This turns into a sludge which takes around two weeks to breakdown and be ready for use. It should be used in a 1 to 10 mix with water and applied to the leaves as a foliar feed or applied directly to plant roots. This helps give plants in pots the nutrients that they would normally find in the ground.

Comfrey flowers from May to August and is a great plant for pollinators, especially bees. It is on the Royal Horticultural Society Plants for Pollinators list.

Garden Writer | Guineveres Garden