common comfrey
Symphytum officinale
RHS Plants for Pollinators
USDA zones4 to 8
SunHandles full sun to partial sun
WaterHandles dry to moist soil
Size1 to 3 feet tall9 inches to 2.5 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Habit
- Clumping
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer
- Bloom color
- Pink, purple, white
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Common comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is an herb for borders, pollinator gardens, cottage gardens, and naturalized areas. It is hardy to USDA zone 4, or down to -30°F (-34°C). This plant likes full or part sun and dry to moist soil of most types. It grows fast in a clump and blooms pink, purple, or white in spring and summer. Bees visit the flowers. Deer rarely make it their first choice.
Pairs well with Hardy geranium, Siberian iris, and Marsh spurge.
Native range
Europe, Central Asia, Altay, Krym, and 4 more places. See all 8
Europe, Central Asia, Altay, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Sardegna, Sicilia, and Türkiye.