Weird comfrey flowers

by Shawna D
(TN)

Odd comfrey flowers

Odd comfrey flowers

Have you ever seen comfrey with unusual flower growth? My comfrey spot has plants that are a handful of years old.

Last year, some had weird flowers. This year, the weird flowers are back and now comfrey in a different spot has the odd growth. The flowers have not produced seed.

I have looked for information all around and have not found anything about this happening. Thanks for your time! Shawna~

Comments for Weird comfrey flowers

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Jun 12, 2021
 This is not confined to Comfrey
by: Jacki Cammidge, Certified Horticulturist

According to a lot of sources, the only thing that affect Comfrey is rust, but this isn't rust. This looks like some kind of Witches Broom, which is caused (usually) by some type of fungus. I would cut off the affected flowers, and dispose of them in the garbage (don't compost them).

This type of growth can also be triggered by some kind of damage, for instance, a pest has been chewing on it. In most cases, Comfrey is really hard to kill, so it will outgrow the issue.

You say that now Comfrey in a different spot has the same issue. Is it part of the same batch, bought at the same time? Or completely unrelated? This would be important to know, if it's spreading, or if it was brought in like that.

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