Borage for Bees
The partnership between flowering plants and bees is a vital one. One of these allies is Borage (Borago officinalis). Not everyone can have a beehive but almost everyone can grow plants that are beneficial to pollinators. An annual herb that is useful for culinary and medicinal purposes – it also feeds bees. Lets look into the world of “borage and bees” and better understand why growing this plant in your garden can be a great idea and some seed-starting tips.
As a beekeeper, I love adding unusual flowers that bees love to the garden. Of course, not every plant in my bee garden feeds bees – but most of them do. Having a variety of plants (with different nectar) is good for bee health too.
Why Borage is Beneficial for Honey Bees
Borage (Borago officinalis) is an herb-that is also called Starflower. It is an annual plant that grows, blooms and produces seed all in one season. It often reseeds itself each season for continued bloom.
Nutritional Powerhouse: Borage boasts an impressive nutritional profile, rich in both nectar and pollen – both of which honey bee colonies need. One of the most appealing traits from a bee lovers point of view is the long bloom time.
Long Bloom Period: Many plants only produce flowers for a short time. However, borage continues to produce flowers over a long period. Blooming from late Spring into Summer makes borage a valuable bee forage plant.
High Yield: Borage is also know for having a high nectar yield. It produces large quantities of the sweet liquid that lures honey bees to the flowers. This helps the colonies make honey that they need for Winter.
Attractive to Bees: It is very attractive to honey bees. The vibrant blue hue of its flowers, coupled with their distinctive star shape, acts as a visual magnet for foraging bees.
Borage is a Honey Plant
Cultivated as a vegetable in some regions of the world, this plant is responsible for honey production too. Commercial apiaries grow borage to feed bees in large fields near their hives.
Bees harvest nectar and pollen from the flowers. Large amounts of seed are produced thanks to good bee pollination. Later, the farmer can harvest and sell the plant seed for increased profit.
Having a long flowering period, borage is well suited for areas that may experience a dry season in mid-Summer. In some areas, this honey plant allows beekeepers to harvest a crop of borage honey.
More Reasons to Grow Borage
Perhaps you do not have room for a field of borage plants? That’s okay. Every nectar producing flower counts. This is one of those bee friendly plants that grow in pots well too
Plan to include a few in and among your vegetable garden plants. It is often grown as a great companion plant for tomatoes (much like bee balm companion planting) and believed to help them perform better. Borage adds trace minerals to the soil and is considered a good product for composting or mulching.
All parts of the borage plant are edible and it is a popular addition to fresh salads. Leaves and flowers of borage are used as a garnish or dried for storage.
Borage leaves make a lovely herbal tea! In fact, an “old wives tale” purports that slipping a leaf of borage in a man’s drink would give him the courage to propose. (I don’t recommend this love potion but it is interesting.)
It a popular herb valued for its medicinal properties. With reported uses for asthma, blood pressure, skin care and many other issues it is taken as a supplement in pill form. It is reported to be useful for treatment of various auto-immune disorders.
Growing Borage from Seed
Borage is not a picky plant. But, this plant would not be my first choice for a rain garden planting. They can have a few problems in constantly soggy soil. But, they do well in most sunny areas.
It enjoys loose rich soil but will produce in less than perfect locations too. Adding a little organic material may give the plants an extra boost. They flower best in full Sun but can tolerate some shade and still produce many blooms.
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Starting Seeds Indoors
Borage seeds are rather easy to grow. But, they are not frost tolerant. I always start them inside the house. Or, you can wait until all danger of frost has passed and sow them directly in the soil. Always, read the instructions on your seed packet.
My favorite technique is to start borage from seed inside about 5-6 weeks before my last frost date. While not absolutely necessary, I used a small heating pad under my seedling trays.
I have found that they last for years and really do promote germination. Warning – cats love to sit on them too.
Paper Pots for Growing Seedlings
Once the seedlings have emerged and have 2 -4 true leaves, I move them outside to my small greenhouse.
You can certainly keep them inside if you have a sunny location. In the greenhouse, (which I only keep above 40° F at night) the plants sit on their heating pad.
If the weather is still cool outside when roots begin to come out of the starter pods, it is time to pot up. I often make homemade paper pots (as shown below) to allow them to grow until it is safe to plant.
When all danger of frost has passed – or you can’t stand to wait any longer, you are ready to plant outside.
More Ideas
Borage can also be included in making seed bombs – a really fun project to do with kids. It is also a good way to increase a diverse honey bee habitat with many types of plants.
Having a variety of plants makes your garden or yard more bee friendly. Also, many of the flowering herbs that attract bees provide fresh ingredients for your kitchen.
When these herbs are in bloom, encourage pets to stay away. Dogs notoriously try to eat bees – often the end result is painful for both bee and dog (and owner).
FAQs
Yes, honey bees, native bees and many pollinators visit borage flowers for both nectar and pollen.
An exuberant annual that can grow 2 ft tall – borage may need some space. It is generally containable in most situations but could become invasive if the spread is not monitored.
The borage plant (star flower) is toxic to cats. I would not grow it in a location that is visited by many feline friends or on a patio of a cat household.
Growing Borage Seedlings in Paper Pots
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Read my Disclosure.Tools
- scissors
- newspaper
- small glass jar
Supplies
- 1 bag potting soil
- 1 bottle osmocote plant food
Instructions
- Take a full page (single sheet) of newspaper and fold it in half lengthwise. Place a straight sided jar (I used a tall jelly jar) on the sheet with about 2” of newspaper extended-beyond the open top of the jar. Roll up the paper on the jar.
- Use your hand to gently punch the extended paper down into the jar. Don’t try to be neat here. Your goal is to get most of the loose paper crunched down inside the jar.
- Carefully remove the newspaper form from the jar. You have a shell much like a paper cup. Use both hands to fold the paper and form a rather tight-fitting bottom for your plant.You must rely just a bit on feel here and you get better with practice. Use both hands inside and outside the paper cups to form a base for your borage seedlings.
- Add potting soil to your paper pots. You want to replant your seedling and have it at the same depth. Add enough soil to the bottom to ensure the planting depth doesn’t change.If there are very few roots sticking through my peat pellets, I remove the netting that covers them. But, you do not have to do this step – I would not stress the roots if they are growing out. Add enough potting soil to hold your seedling in place firmly.
- Now water each one – I do this by hand and let the excess drip out. Then, place your paper potted borage seedlings back in their tray.Like any young plant, water as needed. As long as you do not overwater, these pots will last for weeks. What a great way to save.
