Borage is an annual that self-seeds freely and returns on its own from dropped seed
Borage is an annual that self-seeds freely and returns on its own from dropped seed, so a single planting typically reappears as volunteer seedlings year after year. Expect volunteers in and around where it grew. If you would rather it did not come up, remove the spent flower and seed heads before the seed drops and pull unwanted seedlings while young; otherwise leave a few heads and let it reseed.
Promising A person has checked it against its sources. If you skip this, it still grows, just less well. The planner suggests it.
How it works
An annual that sets abundant seed which drops and germinates in place, so one planting reappears and spreads by self-sown volunteers each season without being replanted. The control follows from the same mechanism. Seed that is removed before it drops cannot volunteer.
What to do about it
To keep borage going, leave a few seed heads to ripen and drop. To limit where it comes up, cut or deadhead the flower heads before the seed sets and drops, and pull volunteer seedlings while they are young and shallow-rooted.
How much it matters: No figure is stated. Left unmanaged, borage reliably volunteers from dropped seed and returns year after year in the same area; with the seed heads removed before drop it stays where it was planted. The read sources describe it as a dependable self-sower, NOT as weedy or invasive. Because managing seed set is the gardener's choice, the rule only advises.
The evidence
Evidence: checked against 2 sources in the research-based literature.
The 2 sources
This annual self-seeds wherever it is planted, so in most years, an abundance of borage returns.
… the plant is also self-seeding and will remain in your garden year after year.
Plants it applies to
How this rule has changed
Every change is dated, newest first. The full record, with each reason, is in the data download.
- Wording made clearer
- Added to the rules
Cite this page
Milpa Gardens. "Borage is an annual that self-seeds freely and returns on its own from dropped seed, so a single planting typically reappears as volunteer seedlings year after year. Expect volunteers in and around where it grew. If you would rather it did not come up, remove the spent flower and seed heads before the seed drops and pull unwanted seedlings while young; otherwise leave a few heads and let it reseed." Evidence grade: Promising. https://milpa.garden/rules/borage-annual-that-self-seeds-freely-returns/
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How we grade evidence
- Well established
- The rule names its mechanism and is settled, by sources a person has read and checked or by plain arithmetic and geometry.
- Promising
- The mechanism is named and the literature backs it. A few questions are still open.
- A good hunch
- Plausible by its mechanism, but field studies are thin, so treat it as a lean.
- Contested
- The evidence points both ways, or no study has tested it, so the planner does not enforce it.
- Refuted
- The claim did not survive its sources. It is kept so the folklore can be answered.