Botanical Name: Borago officinalis
Family: Boraginaceae
Native: Africa, west Asia, and Europe
Hardiness: Annual; re-seeds readily
Plant Dimensions: 2'–3' tall, 12"–18" wide
Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Attributes: Attracts Pollinators, Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant
When to Sow Outside: RECOMMENDED. 1 to 2 weeks before your average last frost date, when soil temperature is at least 40°F, ideally 70°–90°F, or any time in mild climates.
When to Start Inside: 6 to 8 weeks before your average last frost date. Not recommended; sensitive to taproot disturbance. Start in biodegradable pots that can be planted directly into ground.
Days to Emerge: 5–20 days
Seed Depth: ¼"–½"
Seed Spacing: A group of 3 seeds every 12"
Row Spacing: 24"
Thinning: When 2" tall, thin to 1 every 12"
Harvesting: Leaves are best harvested when young; old leaves are tough and hairy. Flowers can be harvested any time.
Write a Review
Borage Seeds Reviews
21 reviews
Borage
4 out of 5 stars 
Jul 21, 2018
Jul 21, 2018Great plant for the garden. Flowers and leaves are edible.
Donna from WV
Laura zone 5b
5 out of 5 stars
Jul 22, 2018
Jul 22, 2018These are great companion plants, self sow, and easy to recognize and transplant when young. They do well for me even in larger containers. Flowers are lovely and tasty in salads. Attracts pollinators also.
Laura Richey from IN
Wonderful Borage
5 out of 5 stars
Jul 25, 2018
Jul 25, 2018Borage is my go to flower in the garden. Between its beautiful blue and periwinkle hues, edible and medicinal values, and most importantly it's a pollinators delight--mainly the bumbles and honeybees.
Joshua Hills from MA
Borage sprouting well
5 out of 5 stars
May 23, 2019
May 23, 2019I've planted borage seeds around most of our fruit trees & they are sprouting well,
even with the fickle weather this year. Can't wait to start eating the blossoms!
Marisa from NJ
Perfect!
5 out of 5 stars
Aug 17, 2019
Aug 17, 2019Every seed grew!
Diana DeAngelis from DE
Great grower
5 out of 5 stars
Aug 23, 2019
Aug 23, 2019I wouldn't say borage is the most beautiful plant in the garden but boy did it grow! It didn't attract nearly as many pollinators as my catnip did and the spiny leaves put me off of trying to eat them. The flowers were a lovely addition to salads and tasted like cucumber. This plant is HUGE. Probably 3-4' tall and easily 2' wide.
Anna from WV
Borage for Bees
5 out of 5 stars
Sep 7, 2019
Sep 7, 2019I planted a few seeds and the plants grew exceptionally well; they even re-seeded and grew additional plants which have continued to provide excellent forage for all types of bees. It's a beautiful addition to my summer and fall garden.
Erin from MI
Huge!
3 out of 5 stars
Oct 11, 2019
Oct 11, 2019This plant grew very larger (larger than I thought it would!) and attracted tons of pollinators. Unfortunately, the spines on it gave us lovely rashes and my husband was terribly allergic to all the pollen. He couldn't even step out of the house without sneezing! So, great for bees, not so great for allery-suffers.
Elora mcgee from AZ
Borage for Courage!
4 out of 5 stars
Oct 22, 2019
Oct 22, 2019This star-flowered beauty can be grown easily during the cool season in Phoenix. I like to freeze the flowers whole within ice cubes for a subtle cucumber-flavored drink once the heat ramps up again in only a few months! A lovely reminder of the cool season once the weather warms up.
Ari from AZ
Great luck with garden
5 out of 5 stars
Sep 6, 2020
Sep 6, 2020Great luck with my garden even through a nasty drought
brian keith Livesay from IN
Great luck with garden
5 out of 5 stars
Sep 6, 2020
Sep 6, 2020Great luck with my garden even through a nasty drought
brian keith Livesay from IN
Fantastic Flowers!
5 out of 5 stars
Oct 9, 2020
Oct 9, 2020I planted these seeds in late spring directly into my raised garden beds. I put them between my tomato plants with the hopes of deterring pests, especially the tomato hornworm. The seeds all germinated so I thinned out some of the clusters.
They grew steadily and had large prickled leaves and stem. Unfortunately the aphids loved these plants but they didn't do any damage. They flowered in late June with beautiful clusters of baby blue and purple star-shaped flowers. I looked forward to going into the garden every morning because I was greeted with these lovely and unique blooms. I wasn't the only one to adore these flowers, the bumble bees and pollinator flies couldn't get enough of them!
I allowed these to seed and eventually the plants rotted after a week of straight rain... It's now October and I'm finding baby borage plants all over the garden!
These are definitely my new favorite flower and I will undoubtedly be planting them next year. They succeeded in deterring the hornworm, as I have not found a single one this year!
10 out of 10
Marissa from NJ
It bloomed!
5 out of 5 stars
Oct 17, 2020
Oct 17, 2020I managed to save one seedling from the aggressive squirrels and it finally bloomed (in October)! The plant is very leggy but the blooms are lovely. I hope to have more luck next Spring so that the bees will be able to enjoy them.
E from VA
Borage seeds
5 out of 5 stars
Oct 25, 2020
Oct 25, 2020They did better then expected. I was really excited when it flowered as not only were there blue flowers there were also pink ones as well.
Cindy from MI
great purchase. would buy again
5 out of 5 stars
Oct 26, 2020
Oct 26, 2020I believe every seed from this borage packet sprouted! I started some indoors and planted others as seeds. The plants are thriving and supporting a whole host of beneficial creatures in my garden. From sprouts I've already spotted, it seems like they easily self-sow, too. My dog injured several plants and they recovered hardily.
Amory from WA
Pollinator ambrosia
5 out of 5 stars
Nov 5, 2020
Nov 5, 2020These borage seeds were excellent germinators, and once flowering, reseeded generously all season, so we had a continual explosion of flowers, while the garden hummed with bees whenever we walked past. A pleasure to experience!
Laura from IN
Fast and vigorous
5 out of 5 stars
Apr 23, 2021
Apr 23, 2021These germinated quickly and grew strong. Planted the remaining seeds the next year with a consistent germination rate.
Marnie Ann from NY
Reseeds easily and attracts bees
5 out of 5 stars
May 31, 2021
May 31, 2021I planted these in 2020 and had a few good plants. This year, however they have reseeded themselves and are all over my garden! One in particular is growing in the crack of my brick patio and it is 4 feet tall and at least two feet wide! Although they might not be the prettiest, the bees love them.- honeybees, bumblebees, and even a valley carpenter bee. I sit and watch the bees in the morning just go nuts :)
Stacey from CA
Easy to grow
5 out of 5 stars
Sep 27, 2021
Sep 27, 2021Borage is easy to grow from seed. The plant is very big. Next year I will need to be more careful on placement in my garden.
Toni from CO
Not good
2 out of 5 stars
Mar 3, 2022
Mar 3, 2022Planted these in a pot, they grew but were very leggy. I moved them to more sun, no change. I transplanted them into the beds, they died.
Edith from SC
Owner Response: Hi Edith,
We are glad these seeds grew well for you. It sounds like you were disappointed with plants being leggy and not transplanting well. We don't recommend transplanting borage; as a tap-rooted plant it suffers when transplanted and performs much better when it is sown in place. Leggy plants can occur from crowding (not thinning), too little light (full sun is 6 or more hours a day), or too much nitrogen which pushes green growth. Feel free to contact us anytime to troubleshoot growing issues like these so we can help. Happy gardening!
A Curious Plant
4 out of 5 stars
Apr 22, 2022
Apr 22, 2022Somewhat slow growers through a desert winter, they did eventually get moving and produced little flowers of a wonderful blue hue. Curious, fuzzy foliage, honestly looks a bit of a garden oddity, but they were a fun experiment.
Charles from AZ