When to plant Borage in Arid Australia

Arid zone — applies to Alice Springs, Mildura, Broken Hill, Kalgoorlie, Port Augusta and similar areas. Growing elsewhere? Temperate · Cool · Subtropical · Tropical.

Sow borage direct from August to January, sowing seed 10 mm deep into a warm, open bed. It germinates in 14–21 days and grows fast, reaching flowering in 56–70 days, so it fills a bed quickly with grey-green foliage and edible blue star flowers. Space plants 30 cm apart in rows 30–45 cm apart, allowing for a sprawling, branching habit. In Mildura and Port Augusta borage earns its place as a hardy, drought-tolerant pollinator magnet: sown among tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries it draws bees for better fruit set and is traditionally said to deter tomato hornworm.

Sowing calendar — arid zone

Green months are your sowing window: August to January.

Growing notes

Borage is one of the toughest companion herbs for a hot, dry garden, and once established it largely looks after itself. Frost hardy and deep-rooted, it copes with the sharp temperature swings of Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie and pulls moisture from well below the surface, so it tolerates dry spells better than most soft herbs.

Sow it where you want it, because borage has a taproot and resents transplanting; direct sowing at 10 mm gives the sturdiest plants. The main failure mode in the arid zone is not death but excess: borage self-seeds prolifically, and one plant allowed to shed seed becomes a small colony next season. Pull spent plants before they scatter seed everywhere, or confine it to a corner where volunteers are welcome.

Use borage as a pollinator plant near fruiting crops. It sits well beside tomatoes and cucumber, where its flowers draw bees to improve fruit set and it is traditionally credited with deterring tomato hornworm, and beside strawberries, where gardeners have long claimed it improves flavour. Give it full sun, occasional deep watering in the driest weeks, and little else. The flowers and young leaves are edible with a cucumber flavour, and picking them regularly keeps the plant producing.

Borage at a glance

Companion planting

Grows well with

Tomatoes: Deters tomato hornworm; attracts pollinators

Cucumber: Deters tomato hornworm; attracts pollinators for better fruit set

Strawberries: Traditionally thought to improve strawberry flavour; attracts pollinators

Common questions

Is borage drought tolerant?

Reasonably so once established, thanks to its deep taproot which reaches moisture below the surface. It still appreciates an occasional deep soak in the driest weeks, but it copes with arid conditions far better than most soft-leaved herbs.

Can I plant borage with tomatoes and strawberries?

Yes, it is a classic companion for both. Near tomatoes and cucumbers it draws bees for better fruit set and is traditionally said to deter tomato hornworm, and near strawberries it attracts pollinators and is thought to improve flavour.

Does borage come back every year?

Borage is an annual, but it self-seeds so freely that it behaves like a permanent resident. Pull spent plants before they scatter seed if you want to control where it appears next season.

Can you transplant borage seedlings?

Not easily, because borage has a taproot and dislikes disturbance. Sow it direct at 10 mm where you want it to grow, and it will establish more strongly than a transplanted seedling.

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