Plant record
Borage
Borago officinalis
Borage is blue-starred confidence. Bees find it immediately, and the bed feels more alive for having it there.
Garden timing
Direct sow around the frost shoulder; it dislikes fussy transplanting.
Plant intelligence
Use on a corner or nearby pollinator strip; mature plants are too wide for the middle of a tight grid.
pollinatorbeneficial insectedge plant
Lifecycle: annual
Habit: broad self-sowing annual herb flower
Height: 18-36 inches
Spread: 18-30 inches
Germination: 5-15 days
Sow depth: 0.5 inches
Bloom: summer
Attracts: bees, bumblebees
Record score
85/100strong garden record
Taxonomy confidence94Borago officinalis in Boraginaceae; 2 cached source references.
Square-foot usefulness80multi-square crop with none support.
Timing and care depth791 planting window, 50F minimum soil, 2 cautions.
Species and variety drill-down882 variety or cultivar options attached.
Annual flower intelligence90high pollinator value.
Source readiness82Ready for 4 external lookup paths.
Species identity
This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.
ScientificBorago officinalisFamilyBoraginaceaeLookup namesBorage, Borago officinalis, starflower
Garden decision matrix
Square-foot fit2 squares per plant
Season behaviorsemi-hardy
Care loadmoderate water
Bed ecosystem rolepollinator, beneficial insect
Variety depth2 options
Species and variety notes
Most garden borage is grown as the straight species; white forms are mostly an ornamental choice.
Albacultivar
70small-bed fit
Pretty and useful, but less iconic than the blue form.
Best use: cut and garden display. Tradeoff: match timing and spacing to the rest of the bed.
white flowers, edible bloom, novelty55-75 days18-30 inches tallCommon Bluespecies
64small-bed fit
The main borage to grow when pollinator value is the point.
Best use: cut and garden display. Tradeoff: match timing and spacing to the rest of the bed.
blue flowers, bee plant, self-sows55-75 days24-36 inches tallCompanions
tomato, strawberry, squash, cucumber
Cautions
Self-sows readily.
Give it room; mature plants are broad.
External enrichment
Cached name: Borago officinalis. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.
Open enrichment JSONData layers
FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.
GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.
USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.
Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.
API source score
Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.
Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.
GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.
USDA PLANTS Database
Plant identity, taxonomy, nativity, and conservation flags.
Source referenceGBIF Species API
Accepted scientific names, taxonomy matching, and occurrence context.
Source reference