How Long Does It Take Borage to Grow?

Self-Seeding

• A borage plant, like other annuals, completes the growing process in a single season. The seeds germinate in spring and emerge from the soil, followed by stalk and leaf development, flowering, seed development and seed dispersal. Though each plant only grows for one season, a garden patch of borage generally comes back year after year with little tending because borage self-seeds readily in fall. The seeds germinate in spring, or in late winter in mild climates, and start the growing cycle again.

Time to Maturity

• Borage plants grow 1 to 3 feet tall at a fast rate, reaching their mature height in the first part of the growing season. The stems are thick, up to 1/4 inch around, and hollow. Borage plants grow in clumps 1 to 3 feet wide. The 6-inch-long leaves and the stalks are covered in fine hair. Borage flowers bloom from early to late summer, followed by seed pod development in fall. When ripe, the seed pods burst open and scatter their seeds.

Planting Borage

• You can grow borage in the garden by scattering seeds on the soil in spring as soon as the ground thaws. In mild climates, you can plant borage in winter or early spring. Don't cover the seeds once you scatter them over the soil; borage seeds need light to germinate. Borage seedlings transplant well, so if you find borage plants popping up in unwanted areas of the garden, you can dig them up and transplant them to a more suitable area.

Borage in the Garden

• Borage makes an ideal companion plant in the edible garden. This fast-growing annual attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies, and discourages harmful insects. Grow borage around the edge of a vegetable garden, around orchards and near berry patches. It is considered a particularly good companion for tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and squash (Cucurbita moschata), two popular annual crops, and strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa), which are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 8. Borage grows best in full sun and in soil with good drainage.