💠 Borage Borago officinalis
🌸 Flower & Beneficial
Companion plants for Borage (Flower & Beneficial): good neighbours to grow together, plants it dislikes, and sowing tips. EkoHarita — Dünya varmış!
🌿 Open in the Interactive Chart
Good Companions — Plant Together
Bad Neighbours — Keep Them Apart
No neighbours recorded in this category.
Growing & Sowing Tips
📅 SowingSow directly into the soil or into modules in spring after the last frost; it self-seeds and spreads through the garden once established.
🌱 Depth0.5-1 cm
📏 Spacing30-45 cm
🌞 SunFull sun
💧 WateringModerate; it's drought-tolerant, lightly moist soil is enough
🧺 HarvestThe flowers and young leaves can be picked continuously; the blue star flowers are edible
🪴 SoilModerately fertile, well-draining; grows even in poor soils
⭐ DifficultyEasy
🗓️ SeasonSpring
📅 Calendar is for the Northern Hemisphere; in the Southern Hemisphere shift sowing times by ~6 months.
💡 Key tip: It self-seeds and spreads through the garden; pull it out before it flowers in areas where you don't want it. Because its nectar is so abundant ('bee bread'), a flower refills its nectar about 2 minutes after a bee visit; it draws bumblebees and solitary bees heavily, giving nectar even in cool weather. Its deep taproot brings calcium and potassium to the surface; if the plant is eventually cut and left in place as mulch (chop-and-drop) it feeds the soil.
🤝 Companion logic: Planted with tomato it deters the hornworm and raises yield by drawing pollinators; planted close to strawberry it increases pollinator (solitary bee, hoverfly) density, boosting fruit size and yield (University of Minnesota field research, preliminary result). It markedly improves pollination in cucurbits like squash, cucumber and melon; in brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) it deters the cabbageworm and draws predatory beneficial insects (ladybird, lacewing, parasitic wasp, hoverfly).
🔬 Scientific References
- Royal Horticultural Society (t.y.) How to grow borage / RHS Growing Guide. Erisim adresi: https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/borage/growing-guide (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- University of Maryland Extension (2023) Borage. Erisim adresi: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/borage (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- North Carolina State Extension (t.y.) Borage - Borago officinalis. NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Erisim adresi: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/borago-officinalis/common-name/borage/ (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- Hecht, N. (2018) Berries, bees, and borage. University of Minnesota, Minnesota Fruit Research. Erisim adresi: https://fruit.umn.edu/content/berries-bees-borage (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- Marquesen, S. (2024) Culinary Herbs are Good for Beneficial Insects, Including Pollinators. Penn State Extension. Erisim adresi: https://extension.psu.edu/culinary-herbs-are-good-for-beneficial-insects-including-pollinators (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (2020) Magical Marvelous Borage. The Backyard Gardener. Erisim adresi: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=39234 (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- West Coast Seeds (2021) How to Grow Borage. WCS Academy. Erisim adresi: https://www.westcoastseeds.com/blogs/wcs-academy/grow-borage (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- Gardening Know How (t.y.) Companion Planting With Borage - Plants That Grow Well With Borage. Erisim adresi: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/borage/companion-planting-with-borage.htm (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- The Old Farmer's Almanac (t.y.) How to Grow Borage Plants: A Pollinator Magnet with Culinary & Medicinal Perks. Erisim adresi: https://www.almanac.com/plant/borage (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- Sonmez, C., Simsek Soysal, A.O., Taghiloofar, A.H., Bayram, E. ve Coskunol, H. (2018) 'Menemen Ekolojik Kosullarinda Borago officinalis L. (Hodan) Bitkisinde Farkli Sira Arasi Mesafelerinin Bazi Verim ve Kalite Ozelliklerine Etkileri', Ege Universitesi Ziraat Fakultesi Dergisi, 55(1), s. 75-81. Erisim adresi: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/zfdergi/article/390975 (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- Unver Alcay, A. (2019) 'Hodan Otunun Faydalari ve Mutfakta Kullanimi', Aydin Gastronomy, 3(2), s. 101-117. Erisim adresi: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/aydingas/issue/47369/597597 (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).
- Medical Park (t.y.) Hodan Otu Nedir? Hodan Otu Faydalari Nelerdir? Erisim adresi: https://www.medicalpark.com.tr/saglik-rehberi/hodan-otu-nedir (Erisim: 15 Haziran 2026).