As I've written before, the plants in my gardens arrived here from several different places. Some from friends, some from plant stores, and then others such as this comfrey that I like to think I rescued from the wild.Comfrey leaves and stalks are among the fuzziest I know in the plant kingdom. Once the flowers bloom and the stalks reach their maximum height, somewhere between three and four feet, the plant goes into prone mode. If you don't cut it back, it will smother nearby plants.
But comfrey is like chives in that you can cut it several times during a season and it just keeps coming back for more. It's really a handsome plant and I love it in the garden. But beware that once it's established, it cannot be vanquished and you'll find smaller comfreys popping up here and there.
Comfrey's common names—boneset and bruisewort—reveal the plant's uses as a healing herb. The leaves, if prepared as a poultice and applied to a skin abrasion, are very soothing. Dried, powdered comfrey leaves (which include allantoin, a chemical used in some pharmaceuticals to promote cell growth) are also helpful for healing if sprinkled on a wound.
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