Dwarf Comfrey
Symphytum grandiflorum
Also called creeping comfrey and large-flowered comfrey
Dwarf Comfrey blooms from May through June.
Every fact this page states, and what the plant is called, was checked against named botanical sources, with the sources recorded beside each value and the unsettled points written down.
Growing Dwarf Comfrey
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–8. Expect it to reach about 16 in tall and 24 in wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years.
When to plant Dwarf Comfrey
Plant Dwarf Comfrey in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. For the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 8 range, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 6 in March.
Good to know about Dwarf Comfrey
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Leaves and roots carry pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Swallowed, they can cause sinusoidal obstruction syndrome and severe liver injury, and the harm accumulates rather than showing at once. The FDA asked US suppliers to withdraw comfrey products meant to be taken by mouth in 2001. Horses and cattle are at real risk too, and dried comfrey in hay stays toxic while becoming more palatable. Growing it, cutting it, composting it and using it as a mulch or liquid feed are all ordinary and fine; eating it, brewing it as tea, or letting a horse reach it are not. per NIH LiverTox and FDA and Oregon State
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