What about ordering the seeds off the internet?

http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/0337?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=shopping%20portal&utm_campaign=shopping%20portals&utm_keyword=Borage%20-%20Seeds%20-%20Park%20Seed

very good point lnewport, but lack of thinking ahead and depending on family members for assistance was a failure, I dont want to take the chance now of ordering them and the seeds not coming in on time. Put the web site in favorite though. Thanks.

DId you grow it last year in the same garden plot? It reseeds readily, and once you have it one season you can count on it popping up in about the same place every year even if you pulled the plants or they got killed by frost.

I think the last time I purposely seeded borage was in 2003. It just volunteers every year & I leave the most conveniently located one to grow and mature. The bees really do love it.

i was tempted to grow borage this year but after i found out it grows through root propagation i was concerned it would grow to be as prolific as the Johnson grass we have been battling for 20 years.

It reseeds readily, and once you have it one season you can count on it popping up in about the same place every year even if you pulled the plants or they got killed by frost.

I grew it 2 years ago and had zero plants come up last year. It flowered plenty but I never checked for seeds. I'm sure it made a few though because the bees visited daily and it grew the whole season.

I bought the seeds from PIKE nurseris. Is there one near you ?

lunita Yes same garden beds. Somehow, borage popped up in two of my other raised beds. I only planted them with the tomatoes. Thanks will keep an eye on the beds, but dad has been there and doing his best (god bless him) to get the beds ready for me, so there is no telling what he has pulled up and out.

tlowery04, I seem to recall that I did have a few little ones pop up here and there last year, but just plucked right out.
taz6122 I should have thought about saving he seeds, I pulled them up last fall for a cover crop. I didnt know then what I know now about their seeds.

seysonn never heard of it, but this evening when I get home, will check on their locations. Thanks.

They're a pretty common herb seed. Call around to a few garden centers and hardware stores. My recent Internet orders from Johnny's and Territorial have shipped within a day.

I got mine on ebay, but Lowes carries it here every year for the last 4 years.
You can also put in a nest for Solitary Bees.

Here is a link that might be useful: native-pollinators

tlowery, could you be thinking of another herb, maybe comfrey? Borage isn't weedy. I've had it survive a very mild zone 9 winter, but usually dies with a hard freeze. It reseeds, but the seedlings are big, obvious, easy-to-pull fleshy things -- they look a lot like squash until they get their first set of true leaves, which are bumpy and hairy. Mine hasn't strayed more than about 10 feet from where I planted it the first time in about 2003 (the one I'm letting grow this season is about 6 feet down from where I planted it in 2003.) Also, since Taz in zone 6b doesn't have it volunteering, maybe you won't either. Maybe it's something that only volunteers in more mild climates?

I *love* my volunteer borage and so do my kids (they eat the flowers) and my bees.

I've purchased it locally from a Hart Seed rack. I think I've seen other brands that include it, too. Sometimes it is alphabetized in with the flower seeds but often is in a separate section for herbs or medicinal seeds. Check various parts of the seed racks.

Mine often reseeds here in Michigan but it isn't a weedy problem at all. Sometimes I confuse the seedlings with young thistles and hoe them all out before I realize my misidentification :(

The Borage seeds I bought this year are either American Seed or Livingston Seed(can't find my packet right now), which I found at Farm and Fleet. Very inexpensive. Maybe you can call around to see if someone local carries those brands.

Thanks for all the great replies. I tried Home depot. checked every seed section they had. They had just about every herb seed imaginable, but no Borage. Also checked with few nurseries and still zelch. Maybe they were out that day? When I get to Keller, where I am going this weekend, I might find the time to call around.
Simply amazed at all the help i have been receiving. Thanks all for the help and advice.

I'm an advocate of borage also - it really does attract bees - and to my thinking the nice kind. It re-seeds under my fruiting trees - now apricot, lime, almond, peach, plum, persimmon growing nearby, and inspite of the cold, rainy weather - the fruit is heavy anyway with bees fulfilling their work.

Another side bonus with borage is that raccoons and other animals avoid their "sticky" bushy leaves, so must find other ways to get to the fruit.

On the negative side, it does re-seed vigorously, but is great for composting - fleshy - easy to decompose, chickens will eat the younger leaves, etc.

Of course, if the bees begin to like your borage - and yard - so well, they may decide to homestead - and you would be surprised how city folks think about "that."

Bejay

bejay_10 Can you go into a little more detail on the planting of the borage under your fruit trees? Beds? Planted along with the tree when young? etc. I have nine and it sure could help. I dont have to worry about neighbors being bothered by the bees because our property is way out in the woods. Which is good, but the negative is the pollination. I have read that urbanites dont have to worry about pollination as much as rural folks because of the amount of people growing fruits and vegies and even flowers near their location. Which gives bees plenty of sources of nectar therefore shack up somewhere nearby. I would like to have a colony or two, but time is not on my side right now. Thanks for the info

My fruit trees are planted on the north side of the house -the raised bed boxes on the south side. I don't use the Borage in the vegetable boxes, it grows quite tall and bushy, taking up too much room.

However, on the other side of the house - north, with a cement wall between properties, I have spaced my fruit-bearing trees - as I mentioned before. This gives quite a large space between wall and house to plant smaller things - like mint, ornamentals, rosemary, ferns in shade, etc. As borage grows quite tall, I try to keep it as close to the trees - with smaller sun-lovers in front. I also have 2 camelias getting shade from fruit trees.

The borage re-seeds - vigorously, so as soon as it completes its job attracting bees, I start to weed it out -although it does a good job of controlling undergrowth as summer heat comes on, and I don't want to plant anything. We do have water shortage problems now.

A bit OT, but I have been watching (interested amateur), the on-going discussion on bees, pollination, their apparent demise in some locations, and consequences as a result. Also - here in California, we have the added problem dealing with bees - crossing the border from Mexico, establishing themselves in urban areas - which some folks feel are African or "killer bees."

While it may be easy enough for governments to establish ordinances - for things like gardening, animal keeping - such as chickens, raising birds for profit, etc., etc., I don't know how they could determine who might be at fault for "keeping" bees. Bees aren't usually "kept" as they are free to wander where they may. I say that knowing that it could be a heated topic of concern.

Bees rarely heed such things - and if they care to, will nest in a box - even a worm bin, in a compost pile, or someone's attic.

In my opinion, if I could - I would keep the bees until they performed their chore, then hopefully, discourage their expansion - and allow them to escape to areas more environmentally friendly for them - and less problem for human activity.

If such an idealistic condition could be achieved, it might keep a lot more folks happier.

Just my 2 c's.

Oh yes - do plant Borage and pull it out wherever you don't want it.

Bejay