A growing journal built from dated family observations. The latest report below is historical evidence, not a claim that the plant is in the same condition today. Plans and questions are kept separate from actions and outcomes.
Latest recorded state
- September 8: six outdoor comfrey plants were described. Ducks had eaten the leaves from three after passing the fence. Of the other three, one was dark green, one green-yellow and one still emerging.
- Those plants were reported planted at the start of July in Dubois. Later survival and crown condition were not confirmed.
- The early mother plant was called Bocking 14. The later outdoor plants' cultivar and exact lineage were not confirmed.
What we learned
- The choice to take a small cutting preserved the precious mother plant instead of assuming it could tolerate a full division.
- Separate transplant symptoms, confirmed duck damage and suspected causes.
- Do not label every later plant Bocking 14 without a source that establishes its origin.
The story so far
Dated observations, not assumptions about today.
Protecting the small mother plant+
Heather felt the Bocking 14 mother plant was too small and precious to divide substantially. She took one small cutting and hoped it would take; two future potted plants were an intention, not a confirmed survival count.
Yellowish new growth+
New growth looked yellowish before a planned outdoor move the following week. The cause and completed move were not established in this conversation.
An accidental break+
A grandchild accidentally broke off a plant's middle section. Recovery and the cultivar of this damaged plant were not recorded.
A new leaf, with browning+
After the outdoor move, Heather saw a new leaf with browning edges. A larger leaf had gone brown and was cut back. She had already cut back large leaves at transplanting; small flies over wet soil were not identified.
Replacement starts ordered+
Heather said outdoor comfrey and nettle had not taken off. She ordered replacement comfrey crowns and nettle roots. This report did not confirm their planting.
Six plants and a fence breach+
Heather reported small, slow-growing July-planted comfrey. Three had lost leaves to ducks; the remaining three had different stages of growth. There was no subsequent survival result.
Next steps & open questions
- Check and record the fence condition before interpreting further leaf loss.
- Label surviving plants by source and photograph crown/new growth at the next check.
- Add the next season's actual emergence and survival count.
Sources & what was completed
Record provenanceDated Heather growing observations, source sequences 95, 211, 252, 262, 286, 293, 465. Restored September 27, 2026 after unrelated garden records were inadvertently archived.
- Restored growing notes from Heather's archived conversations. No medicinal-use instructions or unsupported plant diagnoses are included.
Recorded by Reviewed source recovery on Sep 27, 2026.