Enhance your garden’s vitality with these premium Bocking 14 Comfrey roots. This offering includes 15 robust 4-inch bare roots of Symphytum officinale, commonly known as Russian Comfrey or Sterile Comfrey. Bocking 14 is a highly prized variety, specifically chosen for its vigorous growth and nutrient-accumulating properties, making it an invaluable asset for any organic gardener. Unlike seed-grown comfrey, this sterile variety ensures it won’t spread aggressively through self-seeding, providing controlled growth while still delivering abundant foliage. These Bocking 14 Comfrey roots are live plant material, ready to be planted directly into your garden to establish a long-lasting, beneficial perennial.

Known for its deep taproots, comfrey draws essential nutrients from the subsoil, making them available to other plants when its leaves are used as mulch or compost. This makes Russian Comfrey for garden use an excellent choice for improving soil health and boosting the growth of surrounding plants. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting, these bare roots offer an easy and effective way to integrate sustainable practices into your landscape.

Key Benefits

Integrating Bocking 14 Comfrey roots into your garden provides a multitude of advantages, from soil enrichment to sustainable plant care. This versatile perennial is a must-have for eco-conscious gardeners seeking natural solutions.

• Natural Soil Enrichment: Comfrey’s deep roots mine nutrients from deep within the soil, making them accessible to other shallow-rooted plants. Using its leaves as a ‘chop and drop’ mulch or in compost enriches your garden beds with vital minerals and nitrogen.
• Excellent Compost Activator: The high nitrogen content and rapid decomposition of comfrey leaves make them an ideal addition to compost piles, significantly speeding up the composting process and creating nutrient-rich humus faster.
• Sustainable Liquid Fertilizer: Easily create a potent liquid fertilizer by steeping comfrey leaves in water. This ‘comfrey tea’ provides a balanced feed for flowering plants, vegetables, and fruit trees, promoting strong growth and abundant yields.
• Sterile Variety for Controlled Growth: The Bocking 14 variety is sterile, meaning it does not produce viable seeds. This prevents unwanted spreading, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of Bocking 14 Comfrey roots without concerns about it becoming invasive.
• Hardy and Low Maintenance: Once established, comfrey is incredibly resilient and requires minimal care. It tolerates a range of conditions and will reliably return year after year, providing a continuous supply of beneficial foliage.
• Attracts Pollinators: While primarily grown for its leaves, comfrey produces small, bell-shaped flowers that are attractive to bees and other pollinators, contributing to the biodiversity of your garden ecosystem.
• Supports Healthy Plant Growth: Regular application of comfrey-derived nutrients can lead to stronger, healthier plants with increased resistance to pests and diseases, showcasing the true Comfrey plant benefits.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Successfully growing Bocking 14 Comfrey roots is straightforward, as this perennial is known for its hardiness. For optimal growth, plant your 4-inch bare roots horizontally about 2–3 inches deep in loose, well-drained soil. Choose a location that receives full sun to partial shade; comfrey is quite adaptable but will produce more foliage in sunnier spots. Ensure the soil is consistently moist during the initial establishment phase, especially in the first few weeks after planting. Once established, comfrey becomes very drought-tolerant, though regular watering during dry spells will encourage more lush growth.

Comfrey thrives in a variety of soil types but prefers rich, loamy soil with good drainage. Amending your planting area with compost before planting will give your grow Comfrey plants the best start. While comfrey is a heavy feeder, particularly when being harvested for its leaves, it typically does not require extensive fertilization beyond what it draws from the subsoil and the nutrients it recycles when its leaves are returned to the garden. It is generally hardy in USDA zones 3-9, making it suitable for a wide range of climates. Pest and disease issues are rare, contributing to its low-maintenance appeal. Regular harvesting of leaves will encourage new growth and prevent flowering, if desired, to maximize nutrient production. This helps you maximize the Comfrey plant benefits for your garden.

Size & Details

This product includes 15 individual Bocking 14 Comfrey roots, each approximately 4 inches long. These are bare root perennial plants, meaning they are shipped without soil or foliage, ready for immediate planting upon arrival. When established, comfrey plants typically grow to a mature height of 2-3 feet tall and can spread up to 2 feet wide, forming dense clumps of large, hairy leaves. The growth rate is vigorous once the roots have settled, with foliage appearing within weeks of planting in favorable conditions. Expect your perennial Comfrey to provide multiple harvests of leaves throughout the growing season, typically from spring through fall, year after year.

These roots are ideal for creating a dedicated comfrey patch, an essential component of a permaculture garden or a robust composting system. The 4-inch length is optimal for quick establishment and vigorous development. With proper care, these plants will quickly become a cornerstone of your natural gardening practices, providing a sustainable source of organic matter and nutrients.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: Once established, Bocking 14 Comfrey roots will grow into mature plants typically reaching 2-3 feet in height and spreading about 2 feet wide. They form dense, leafy clumps that return year after year.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Comfrey is primarily an outdoor plant, best suited for garden beds, permaculture systems, or dedicated comfrey patches. It is a hardy perennial designed to thrive in various outdoor climates.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: Comfrey prefers a location with full sun to partial shade. While it can tolerate some shade, it will produce more abundant foliage in sunnier spots with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, grow Comfrey plants are considered very easy to care for once established. They are hardy, drought-tolerant, and generally pest-free, making them an excellent choice for gardeners of all skill levels.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your order will arrive as 15 individual 4-inch bare roots. These roots are dormant and ready for planting, without any soil or foliage to ensure safe and efficient shipping.
• Q: When is the best time to plant these roots? A: The best time to plant Bocking 14 Comfrey roots is in early spring after the last frost, or in the fall before the ground freezes. This allows the roots to establish before extreme temperatures.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: Comfrey is a very hardy perennial, typically thriving in USDA Zones 3-9. It will die back to the ground in winter in colder climates but will reliably resprout from its established root system in spring.
• Q: What are the main uses for Russian Comfrey for garden? A: The primary uses for Russian Comfrey are as a nutrient accumulator for making natural fertilizers (comfrey tea), a compost activator, and a ‘chop and drop’ mulch to enrich garden soil. These are key Comfrey plant benefits.
• Q: Can I grow this in a container? A: While possible, comfrey has a very deep taproot system and grows quite large. For best results, it’s recommended to plant it directly in the ground. If using a container, choose a very large, deep pot.
• Q: What are the Comfrey plant benefits for other plants? A: Comfrey extracts deep soil nutrients, making them available to other plants through its leaves. It also improves soil structure and attracts beneficial insects, contributing to a healthier garden ecosystem.