Borage in Zone 8B — Florida

Borage is a fantastic addition to your Florida garden, offering edible cucumber-flavored leaves and beautiful star-shaped blue flowers that attract pollinators. It's a versatile herb you can use in salads, drinks, or as a garnish. Plus, watching it thrive in your backyard is incredibly rewarding.

Our Florida gardening calendar is different, and summer can be a challenge. But with proper timing, you can enjoy borage during our longer growing season, from mid-February through early October. With about 303 days to work with, you've got plenty of time to get a few harvests.

You can transplant borage outdoors in early February through early March if you started seeds indoors. Before planting, harden off your seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions for about a week. This helps them adjust to the Florida sun and humidity.

Space your borage plants 12-18 inches apart to allow for adequate growth. Keep an eye on the weather forecast around transplant time. We sometimes get unexpected temperature swings even in early spring, so be ready to protect your young plants if a late cold snap threatens.

Direct sowing is the preferred method for borage, and it's super easy. Sow seeds mid-February through early October for best results. Borage germinates best when the soil temperature is around 60-70°F, which is easily achievable during this window in Florida.

Prepare your garden bed by loosening the soil and adding some compost. Plant seeds about 1/2 inch deep, spacing them 12-18 inches apart. Keep the soil consistently moist until germination. Borage self-seeds readily, so be prepared to have new plants popping up.

Borage needs moderate watering, especially in our hot Florida climate. While it's a pretty easy-going plant, it's not drought-tolerant, so don't let it dry out completely. During our dry spring and fall, aim to give your borage about 1 inch of water per week. You'll likely need to water more frequently when we get those hot spells.

Stick your finger about 2 inches deep into the soil near the base of the plant. If it feels dry, it's time to water. In the summer, with our high humidity, it's best to water at the base of the plant to avoid creating overly moist conditions that can lead to fungal diseases.

Signs of underwatering include wilting leaves and slow growth. Overwatering can cause yellowing leaves and potentially root rot, which is a real problem in our humid environment. A good layer of mulch around the base of the plant helps retain moisture and suppress weeds, just be sure to keep it away from the stem to prevent rot.

You can expect your first harvest of borage flowers and leaves starting in mid-April and continuing through late December. That's a long harvest window! Borage is ready to harvest about 55 days after sowing.

Harvest the star-shaped blue flowers when they are fully open. The young leaves are also edible and have a refreshing cucumber flavor. Simply snip off the flowers or leaves as needed, being careful not to damage the main plant. Regular harvesting encourages continued production.

As the first frost approaches around mid- December, harvest any remaining flowers and leaves you want to use. While borage is frost-hardy, a hard freeze will likely damage the plant. You can let it self-seed for the following year or pull it up if you don't want it to spread.

Borage is generally easy to grow, but here are a few common problems you might encounter in Florida:

Self-seeding aggressively

• What it looks like: Numerous borage seedlings popping up everywhere in your garden, even where you didn't plant them.
• What causes it: Borage readily self-seeds, especially in our mild Florida winters.
• How to fix/prevent it: Deadhead flowers before they go to seed to prevent unwanted seedlings. If you don't mind them, simply thin out the seedlings as needed.

Powdery mildew

• What it looks like: White or grayish powdery coating on leaves and stems. Leaves may curl, yellow, and die.
• What causes it: Fungal disease that thrives in our warm days, cool nights, and moderate to high humidity.
• How to fix/prevent it: Improve air circulation by spacing plants properly and pruning. Remove affected leaves. Neem oil or potassium bicarbonate sprays can help. Milk spray (1 part milk to 9 parts water) is surprisingly effective.

Can become leggy

• What it looks like: Long, spindly stems with fewer leaves, especially in shady areas.
• What causes it: Insufficient sunlight can cause borage to stretch and become leggy.
• How to fix/prevent it: Plant in full sun to part shade. Prune back leggy stems to encourage bushier growth.

Florida Specific Challenges: Our hot, humid summers and wet-summer rainfall can create ideal conditions for fungal diseases like powdery mildew. The humidity can also stress the plants, making them more susceptible to pests and diseases. Make sure to provide good air circulation and avoid overhead watering to minimize these problems.

Borage is a great companion plant for many vegetables in your Florida garden. It attracts pollinators and beneficial insects.

• Tomato: Borage is said to deter tomato hornworms and other pests.
• Squash: It attracts pollinators, which can improve squash yields.
• Strawberry: It helps deter strawberry pests.
• Cucumber: Borage is thought to improve the flavor of cucumbers.

Avoid planting borage near any plants that are susceptible to the same diseases, like powdery mildew, as this can increase the risk of spreading the disease. Otherwise, borage is a pretty easy-going companion in the garden.