Best Borage Varieties for Scotland

Most borage is grown as an annual that self-seeds, so in Scotland winter hardiness matters less than how long it flowers in a short season and whether it comes back next year. The choice comes down to flower colour, growth habitA plant's characteristic shape and manner of growth, such as upright, spreading, creeping or bushy. Full definition → and how long each keeps going.

What Scotland means for the choice

All the rated forms are H5The RHS's H1a–H7 scale for how much cold a plant can survive outdoors, H1a being tender indoor-only and H7 hardy anywhere in the UK. Full definition →, hardy to between -15°C and -10°C, but the species behaves as an annual or biennialA plant that completes its life cycle over two years: growth in year one, then flowering, seeding and dying in year two. Full definition →, so the plants themselves finish with the season. What carries a borage patch from year to year is self-seeding, which the species does freely. A form that flowers longer, into autumn, gives more to pick and more for late pollinators in a short Scottish summer. Borage makes a taprootA single, thick, dominant root growing straight down from a plant, storing energy and anchoring it, as opposed to a spreading mass of fine roots. Full definition →, so sow it where it's to grow. The borage growing guide covers sowing, spacing, staking and safe handling.

None of them holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

The species

The standard blue-flowered borage is the everyday choice: the easiest seed to find, with the star-shaped flowers used for garnish and young leaves for the kitchen. It self-seeds readily, which renews a patch each year; deadheadRemoving spent flowers before they set seed, which redirects a plant's energy into further flowering rather than seed production. Full definition → before the seed sets if you'd rather it didn't spread.

'Alba'

'Alba' has white flowers in place of blue, on a clump-forming, upright plant, and it's on the RHS "Plants for pollinators" list. It's classed as a herbaceous perennial, unlike the species, though there's no information on how reliably it comes back in a Scottish garden, so don't count on it. Grow it for a white or pale planting scheme.

Borago pygmaea

Borago pygmaea is a different kind of plant: a spreading, rosette-forming perennial with small, pale blue, bell-shaped flowers from early summer into autumn. That long flowering suits a short Scottish season and feeds pollinators after many other flowers have finished. It spreads as wide as it grows tall and is described as short-lived, so expect to replace it every few years.

'Bill Archer'

'Bill Archer' is grown for its cream-variegated leaves. There's little other detail on it, so grow it if the foliage is what you want.

Which one for your situation

• Flowers and leaves for the kitchen: the species.
• A patch for bees that renews itself: the species, or 'Alba'.
• A white or pale border: 'Alba'.
• Flowers into autumn, and a spreading plant: Borago pygmaea.
• Variegated leaves: 'Bill Archer'.

All forms can get powdery mildew, and young plants need protecting from slugs. The hairy leaves can irritate skin, so wear gloves, and eat borage only occasionally.

Common questions

Sources