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What to do with this comfrey

LatimerLatimer Posts: 1,068
edited June 2021 in Plants
Hi all

I inherited a pot from my parents which had a Clematis and and unknown plant which turned out to be this comfrey. 



As you can see, it's really taken over the pot. The Clematis I had separately planted is doing well but the one in the pot with the comfrey is still quite small and struggling.

Should I chop it all right back? I take it I can then use that to make a fertiliser? The comfrey looked nice and flowered nicely but it now just seems a bit big and I'd like to get some colour into the pot.
I’ve no idea what I’m doing. 

Posts

  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Get it out if you can - maybe when the clematis is dormant and you can turn the pot out - and cut it back hard until that time. I doubt it'll do much as a fertiliser while it's growing in the pot. Comfrey has a very deep tap root which means it takes up nutrients that are not accessible to other plants - that mineral accumulation becomes useful when you turn it into a liquid feed or a mulch. In a pot, it'll just be taking all the nutrients up and starving the clematis. 
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • LatimerLatimer Posts: 1,068
    Thanks @raisingirl! Nice to know the science behind it! I'll cut it back asap then have a look at separating them in the winter.
    I’ve no idea what I’m doing. 
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    As said, the reason comfrey is so useful for making fertilizer is that its roots go down very deep and liberate trace nutrients from the subsoil.  They can't do that in a pot and will soon overpower that clematis, so I would do as @raisingirl suggests and tip out the contents as you don't want any comfrey root left or it will grow back again.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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