Axminster gold comfrey12/24/2023 ![]() ![]() Comfrey has been reported to promote healthy skin with its mucilage content that moisturizes and soothes and promotes cell proliferation. Poultices were made for external wounds and tea was consumed for internal ailments. The Greeks and Romans commonly used Comfrey to stop heavy bleeding, treat bronchial problems and heal wounds and broken bones. Medicinal Use - Comfrey has been cultivated, at least, since 400 BC as a healing herb. In fact, it grows so readily from root divisions that it is not recommended to run your rototiller over these plants as you will likely create quite a colony! This cross renders the plant sterile which is a good thing because it would otherwise spread rapidly out of control! It is however easy to propagate as it readily grows from root divisions. Russian comfrey is a naturally occurring (not GMO) hybrid of Russian Symphytum asperum and European Symphytum officinalis. But really, it wasn’t nearly as lovely as this pink one.An herbaceous perennial flowering to 3 feet, Comfrey is probably one of the most useful and beneficial plants you can grow! It produces gorgeous, large, fuzzy green leaves that continue to erupt all season from the root crown, and gentle nodding purple flowers that provide nectar adored by bees. Sure wish I’d kept a better eye on it when I moved, so I still had it. I used to also have a white-flowered form known as ‘Silva’, but finding a US source for that seems to be a lost cause. I find a seedling or two once in a while, but not nearly as often as I could wish. This lamium has stayed in distinct, non-running clumps for me. Its prime feature is the clusters of relatively large, rosy pink flowers, which appear through most of May here, but its dense, upright, 1-foot-tall clumps of neatly tiered green leaves also look good through the whole growing season. ![]() It grows fine for me in average, somewhat moist but well-drained soil, though it also seems to tolerate some dryness as well as occasional sogginess. I have very little shade here at Hayefield, but this gem gets my prime shady spot, with a few hours of morning sun and bright shade for the rest of the day. Compost-enriched soil that stays somewhat moist (but not soggy) seems to be ideal.Īnd one more plant that I think is neat, even though it’s not variegated (oh, if only it were…): Lamium orvala. Full sun with moist soil is fine, but afternoon shade would probably be an excellent idea in sites that dry out occasionally, because the leaves can be prone to scorching otherwise. ‘Axminster Gold’ reaches about 30 inches tall in bloom for me, and fills a spot about 30 inches across. In another week, I’ll cut the whole thing to the ground, then let it resprout for a good mound of fresh foliage that looks good through the summer. Mine’s been in bloom for about a week now. I truly wish it would spread a bit! The large grayish green leaves are broadly bordered with a nice lemony yellow that softens toward more of a butter yellow toward bloom time. Unlike other comfreys, this one stays where you put it. But if you enjoy variegated foliage, you’ll know it’s worth every bit of effort you spent finding it once you grow it for yourself. Now, it’s a bit unfair to show and tell you how wonderful ‘Axminster Gold’ Russian comfrey is, because it’s apparently very difficult to find. These two irises grow well for me in full sun to half-day sun (either morning or afternoon) in average, well-drained soil. ![]() I like this one too, but not as much as ‘Variegata’ the overall appearance of ‘Argentea Variegata’ just seems somewhat cold and stiff, while ‘Variegata’ is much more cheerful and lively. Instead of the creamy yellow, it has an icy white stripe on each leaf. This one tends to stay much shorter here: to about 1 foot in leaf and maybe 18 inches in bloom. pallida ‘Argentea Variegata’, shown above and at right. There’s also another form of variegated sweet iris: I. This one reaches about 16 inches tall in leaf and 24 to 30 inches tall in bloom. Its bold striping brings it perilously close to being gaudy, but somehow, it never seems to cross the line (or at least, it hasn’t yet for me). It’s very pretty in flower, but it’s even better as a foliage accent through the growing season, with a wide creamy yellow stripe on each grayish green leaf. Variegated sweet iris has been in full bloom for about a week now, with relatively ordinary blue-purple blooms that offer one special feature: a great grape-popsicle scent. (Yes, yes, I know the rules say that you shouldn’t plant variegated plants right next to each other, but I do think these two work.) I’ve been saving up a few of my current favorites to share with you, starting with the two above: variegated sweet iris ( Iris pallida ‘Variegata’ also sold as ‘Aureovariegata’) on the left and ‘Axminster Gold’ comfrey ( Symphytum x uplandicum) on the right. ![]()
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