Borage - White (Borago officinalis var. 'Alba') Starflower Bee Bush Bugloss Star Flower Herb Open Pollinated
Borage - White (Borago officinalis var. 'Alba') Starflower Bee Bush Bugloss Star Flower Herb Open Pollinated
Annual
Height 60 to 100 cm
White Borage, also known as starflower, bee bush, bee bread and bugloss, is an easy to grow herb and is the beautiful cousin to the blue flowered Borage, however Alba blooms later in the season.
Seeds produce strikingly beautiful and large plants covered with gorgeous bright white star-shaped flowers. Both the flowers and the leaves of the plant are edible and have a unique flavour similar to cucumber. Prior to eating right out of your garden, bend the arching flower stems back carefully to reveal the flower, pinch where the black anthers have come together to form a cone (known as a beauty mark in one herbal reference). and gently pull away from the stem to separate the edible, star-shaped white corolla. The entire plant imparts a cucumber aftertaste due to a cucumber aldehyde in its chemical composition.
Borage has always been known as a culinary herb and offers an array of uses: its young leaves can be added to salads; its fresh flowers garnish iced drinks and fruit cups; candied, the flowers may be used as condiments in cakes and pastries; and the herb is an important ingredient in the popular English alcoholic beverage known as Pimm’s No. 1. Use Borage leaves while they are young because as the plant matures, the stalks and leaves become covered with a prickly fuzz. Makes a great iced borage tea; add honey and lemon - float a few flowers in it for extra wow factor.
Medicinal uses: Borage flower and leaves are said to be used for fever, cough, and depression. Borage is also used for a hormone problem called adrenal insufficiency, for "blood purification," to increase urine flow, to prevent inflammation of the lungs, as a sedative, and to promote sweating. Borage is not only medicinal and beautiful, it also strengthens the resistance to insects and disease of any neighboring plants; it is an especially good companion plant for strawberries - just make sure boarage remains the junior partner in this beneficial relationship! Why not plant a hedge with blue and white Borage!
- Full sun to part shade
- Moist well draining soil
- Direct seed in early spring after last frost; lightly cover seed; spacing 24 in apart.
- OR start indoors 4 wks before last frost. Sow in light weight peat free soil mix. Cover seeds 2 x its thickness; press in firmly and water. Keep soil evenly moist. As seedlings appear expose to direct light gradually. Harden off gradually and transplant outdoors after all risk of frost has passed.
- Borage will get large and fill in spaces between plants.
- Borage is an un-fussy good self seeder. To avoid self-sowing, the flower heads need to be picked regularly.
- Attracts honey bees
- Blooms June to late summer( October in warmer zones)
- Seed Count: 20