# Virtually indestructible large plant...



## CornerstoneAcre (Mar 10, 2011)

When we recently moved to our new home and there are two large plants (bushes almost) growing in an odd area of the yard. We used our tractor and dug them out. Well, they are coming back and the roots that we dumped in a corner of the property are also growing vigorously!! I will "roundup" or something along those lines if needed but would like to know what this plant may be and if it has any uses other than to live forever. 
If I remember right from last summer, the plants were very lightly "fuzzy". The leaves get quite large - I 'm a bad judge of size, but I'm going to venture a guess around 8 inches or so. 

Here's a close up of the plant in the yard - just starting in this spring








Here's an idea of the full grown size








and here is the pile of roots growning just about as well as the bits of roots we left behind in the ground


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## postroad (Jan 19, 2009)

Horseradish?


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## CornerstoneAcre (Mar 10, 2011)

postroad - similar (it's the closest I've found so far) but no. The leaves tend to be a bit more upright and don't flop. The root was just a huge "block" it was as thick and huge it was almost like the truck of a tree. I don't know if horseradish root smells like horseradish or not, but I do remember smelling the roots we dug up. Who knows I might have been able to identify it that way - but alas, no odor. I'm trying to remember if it had flowers or not - thinking VERY tiny purple ones.


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## postroad (Jan 19, 2009)

Horseradish roots give off a very distinct smell when they are bruised or broken.

Borage has little blue flowers and leaves like yours but here it never has enough time to grow into a monster bush before frost.


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## postroad (Jan 19, 2009)

Maybe sage? but it has a distinct smell. Borage smells like cucumbers when the leaves are bruised. Bees love the flowers from both plants


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

I think it could be comfrey, but I can`t touch it or smell it. My guess, Thanks > Marc


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## CornerstoneAcre (Mar 10, 2011)

Wow - it think you might be right, springvalley, it sure looks alot like comfrey!! I'll take a closer look. Okay this is a stupid question but what does comfrey smell like...I'm sure it smells like comfrey LOL, but is there a distinctive smell? ( I haven't yet tried to smell the leaves or flowers.)


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## CornerstoneAcre (Mar 10, 2011)

Just did more reading on Comfrey - just from the description of " When dividing comfrey plants, take care not to spread root fragments around, or dispose of on the compost heap, as each can re-root, and comfrey can be a very difficult plant to get rid of" I'm pretty sure this is it. I'm VERY glad I put the roots we did dig up in an out of the way corner of the property and NOT on my compost pile - that would have been a disaster!!
Thank you everybody for your quick replies!!


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Yep! It is comfrey.
Great plant for the garden as it does wonders in the compost pile.
Great for animal feed after you dry it.
Great for making salves etc..
You are a very, very lucky person to have such a beautiful big bed of it!!

If you were to dig it and offer it on the barter board you could make yourself a little bit of money!!

And it blooms so prettily and the pollinators love it.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

If I were you, I would take a sample of that plant (root, stems and leaves) to the local agricultural lab and let them identify it. If it is comfrey, remember it makes a great tea and is beneficial to your fruit trees because it's deep tap root pulls up nutrients for anything to use that is within 3 ft of it.


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