How to Winterize Comfrey

A big perennial plant with large, dark green leaves and lots of names, comfrey reaches up to 5 feet high and wide during the summer growing season. It is also known as boneset, knitbone, blackwort, bruisewort, wallwort and the more comforting name, healing herb. Comfrey "Symphytum officinale" grows as a perennial in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 3 to 9. Ornamental varieties, some with variegated leaves and some with blue, pink or white flowers, are less hardy in colder climates. Include winterizing comfrey on your autumn garden checklist to prepare it for cold weather conditions and re-emergence in the spring.

Things You'll Need

• Garden pruners
• Rake
• Mulch

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Clip any dead flower heads off the comfrey plant and discard in the trash, not the compost bin, to reduce reseeding beyond the plant's own area in the garden.

   • 2

     Cut the plant off at ground level using long-handled garden shears. Rake up and remove dead leaves and debris surrounding the plant.

   • 3

     Spread a 3- to 4-inch layer of mulch over the plant's crown. Extend the mulch layer 2 feet in all directions from the plant's center to protect the roots from potential frost-heave damage.