Comfrey - Introducing this gardener's friend.

Comfrey Symphytum officinale Boraginaceae family Perennial plant used in our undergrowth and meadows. It is recognizable by its leaves and stems covered with rough hairs to the touch, sometimes even hard enough to "sting" when the leaves are older. The leaves are oval, slightly petiolate before being fused to the stem when it is present and often end in a very sharp point. The flowers are tubular bell-shaped corollas with 5 short triangular lobes, grouped in spiral cymes, and can take on shades of white (cream), yellow, or even blue or mauve. Comfrey has large, long underground roots (they can reach 1.50m or even 2m if the soil is deep enough), black on the outside and white on the inside, which are extremely brittle. CAUTION! When not in flower, this plant can visually be confused with foxglove at the same stage (all parts of which are TOXIC). Fortunately, the difference is easy to tell by touch: while comfrey leaves are rough, sometimes even prickly, foxglove leaves are soft and downy. Like nettle, another great friend of the gardener, comfrey plays the role of a powerful and ecological biological pump, drawing nutrients from where other plants are unable to go with its extensive root system. The nutrients are then stored in the leaves, which is why they are excellent ingredients for all kinds of garden uses. It is particularly effective in recovering potash and phosphorus. There are different types of comfrey. When we come across them in our gardens, they are most often common comfrey, which is more common but less productive. Hybrid varieties have been created by man and are known as Russian Comfrey. These are the most suitable for garden cultivation because, on the one hand, they are sterile (no risk of soil contamination by seeds), and on the other hand, they come into production earlier in the year and produce much more. As the table above shows, comfrey has very interesting properties in terms of contribution. Just wilted, the leaves have amendment properties similar or even superior to mature compost. Hills, a great botanist, had also nicknamed comfrey "instant-compost" and we understand why. We can thus use fresh or almost fresh leaves as fertilizer in all planting holes (apart from for bulbs). This plant is in any case extremely useful in the garden, do not hesitate to make a place for it!