Symphytum grandiflorum - dwarf comfrey

Some comfreys root under sheet mulch! Not sure which species it was but have seen two instances where comfrey was cut and used in sheet mulch, and new comfreys came up from the buried branches! Not good. Top-mulching with comfrey does not seem to have this result, we have done it for years successfully with Russian comfrey.

I have this species fighting it out with water celery (Oenanthe javanica) and bergamot (Monard fistulosa).  So far, it seems to hold its own, though this spring (April, 2010) I see water celery coming up through the comfrey a bit.  We'll see what happens.

Dwarf comfrey is a dense groundcover of excellent quality. It also has beautiful flowers that are very popular with honeybees. It grows in part to full shade, in mesic to fairly dry sites.

Jonathan and I have grown this species for many years and are big fans. We recenty learned about Symphytum "Hidecote Blue" from Ethan Roland and trialed it this year. This hybrid form (perhaps a cross of dwarf comfrey and some other species) grows a lot faster than S. grandiflorum. This could be a good or bad thing depending on your scale. Dwarf comfrey spreads at about 12" per year, while "Hidecote Blue" spreads more like 24." Both are great choices for filling in your understory.

All the comfreys are assumed to be great soil builders and provide preferred egg-laying and overwintering sites for beneficial insects.

This species is highly dense and aggressive. I've never seen a weed come up through it, and our plants are under a Norway maple that drops thousands of seeds every year. Ours is coming up against a patch of water celery and I think the comfrey will "win" and suppress the water celery. Stay tuned to comments in this page to hear what happens. In terms of polycultures this species will not permit anything to grow in its same layer or lower. Any companions should be substantially taller, probably 4-5' or taller. And probably woody plants only, as even tall herbaceous plants like Baptisia may not be able to emerge in spring from the dense and early-emerging foliage of dwarf comfrey.