Version 2 · Sep 27, 2026
Comfrey: The Mother Plant & Outdoor Trials
Restored this distinct growing topic with its actual observations, chronology, open questions and practical lessons. The earlier saved record remains in history. No current condition or successful outcome has been invented.
Read the complete saved record here
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.