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Herbs - Australia

something eating my comfrey

20 years ago

i have a very small comfrey plant - only a seedling really and some thing is eating it - it has big holes in it - it has been placed in a tyre planter in my vege patch and its not doing well at all - yet the other comfrey in my ornamental garden (when it was planted from a friends garden and was unidentifed at that stage - well we think its comfrey has a slightly different texture in the leaf)are huge and has actually turned into a weed in one of the beds it is impossible to get rid of (i keep trying)it just keeps popping up - although the chooks love it so i just keep harvesting it for them.... but to get back to the seedling what could be eating it havent found any trails of snails or slugs

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Comments (4)

sooze
20 years ago
Hi Ingi,
Can't really id the problem, but could be one of 3 things - if its in a tyre planter I still think it might be slugs (they love it) lurking in the crevices attacking it or "hoppers" or very teensy green grubs (however they will still be on the undersideleaf). You will need to do a night patrol by the look:-))
The big rampant comfrey plant (symphytum officinale) sounds like the normal (its leaves & stems rough and hairy?) & once it takes off its unstoppable and pops up everywhere. Its flowers are purple (though I believe there is a cream variety as well)
I have another little plant of ornamental comfrey (symphytum grandiflorum), which is small (25cm high) with much smaller leaves, a type of ground cover. It bears white flowers, & the leaves are slightly hairy & seem a bit paler in colour, but the stem is not hairy.
Hope I haven't confused you:-)))
sooze
ingi
Original Author
20 years ago
thanks sooze- had no idea that there was an ornamental comfrey - can you still use it as the other one? - have been feeding mine to the chooks - they are still alive - my weed one in the ornamental garden has white flowers and its not small but huge. took it to the nursery for i.d and they just said comfrey not specifing type will check for hairy stems.
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sooze
20 years ago
There seems to be lots of comfrey variations. I wouldn't mind the one with variegated leaves, but have never seen it locally. Guess if your chooks haven't fallen off the perch eating it-must be OK:-))
Peter Gresty
4 years ago
Snails and the brown beetle love comfrey and all nocturnal feeders. The snails actually hide at the base of the plant. Try clearing out the base. Inspect plant at night and remove and kill offenders

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