If this is Gibraltar's pride, they are a shameful lot. I was excited to try this Borage family member. Borages typically have blue (one of my favorite colors) flowers and interesting foliage. Plus they are rarely bothered by pests. Virginia bluebells, lungwort, and forget-me-nots are some of the more beautiful (and blue-tiful) members.
The seed packet featured brilliant blue flowers tinged with red. A sure hit! My community garden is heavy on oranges and yellows, so royal blue would stand out and compliment the others in a special way. The seeds were a year old, which is why I wasn't alarmed when only two sprouted. The cotyledons had that glaucous gray sheen typical of borages. I carefully transplanted them to a prominent spot in the raised bed with an orange bell pepper, some baby crinums, and a nasturtium. Then I waited.
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Left: Scraggily Cerinthe dying back in early summer.
The duo were slow to grow from the start despite a prime position that was well watered. I kept the nasturtium away from them to allow maximum space. The growth habit was not mounding, running, or vertical, just rangy and sprawling. I excused that in anticipation of royal blue flowers. It never happened.
The first flowers pushed out of the calyx to reveal the wishy washy mess that you see above. I gave 'em another month to see if the color would change. No. Then the lower leaves started fading and turning brown. They had to go! I pulled them up in August. Good riddance! |
