Russian Comfrey (12 Root Cuttings)

Symphytum x uplandicum

A multi-purpose super-plant, or arguably a very useful weed. I'm really happy we can offer comfrey root cuttings to you all!

The easiest plant in the world to grow. Although we don't know the specific strain of comfrey that we have, it's the sterile Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum) which only propagates through root cuttings. From what I've observed, it won't spread and take over the garden. But choose their location carefully; once comfrey is in the ground, it's there forever. Every piece of root grows easily into a new plant.

We offer root cuttings in bundles of 12. These will be a mix of crown pieces (which will sprout foliage quickly) and root chunks (which take a little longer to emerge).

Prices and Shipping details: Because of their bulky nature, postage for roots is $20 (in a box with tracking). If you order both seeds and comfrey together, we'll send them separately; seeds first and comfrey when it's ready. 


All about comfrey:

A powerful healing herb, comfrey is one of our most used medicinals around the farm. Both the leaves and roots have skin healing properties, I often use it as a quick poultice for minor cuts, and made into a salve with calendula it's great for dry skin and eczema.

Comfrey is also a super useful soil building plant. Their roots reach down many feet, drawing up nutrients into the prolific bushy foliage. The leaves can be cut multiple times per year as a fertilizer source. They can be brewed into a nitrogen rich fertilizer tea, used as mulch around plants or simply composted.

Traditionally eaten as a cooked green and spring tonic in many cultures, the leaves are soft and quite tasty, but fuzzy. Most authorities no longer encourage consuming comfrey internally, due to low levels of potentially toxic alkaloids. Many animals love it, we used to feed buckets full to our goats and cows.

We've planted comfrey around some of our young fruit trees. The uncut leaves form a natural mulch where they fall, depositing nutrients and suppressing grass.

Comfrey loves moisture, they thrive along stream sides and in ditches. But being the adaptable plants that they are, can grow in pretty much any soil.

Our comfrey has lived here at the farm longer than we have. We inherited a healthy patch of comfrey growing amongst the alders alongside Kempt Brook, perhaps planted decades ago by one of our herb growing predecessors at the farm. I've been dividing and planting that comfrey over the years, and now it grows scattered throughout the orchard and thrives in a big patch in the moist gravelly soil by our bridge.