I have unsuccessfully tried to grow comfrey (inground) in zone 10 a couple times. I think zone 9 is the farthest south you can go. Trying again but the roots came and not sure what is what. Not sure what piece of the plant I have. It looks like white roots on one end and brown roots on the other end.

Are the white shoots roots? Should it be facing downward? I ended up planting them sideways in a pot as I wasn’t sure.

White shoots would be the new leaves. Looks like the new shoots were just under the soil where they were grown, so I would plant the the tops of the growth level/just under the top of your mix.

I’ve successfully grown comfrey in California (a couple different areas, all zone 10). I’ve also propagated it from 4” sections of root. Once I had some root hairs and even grew a plant from those! The key is to keep it watered. I had it next to a hose bib in one garden. In containers or in drier locations, it’s the first thing to wilt.

Whwoz, OK , thank you . I will repot them.

Habitat Gardener, my interest in comfrey really piqued when I went to Calif. and saw it everywhere in Alan Chadwick’s garden at Univ of Cal.Santa Cruz. I think they have the invasive kind. They were also brewing up comfrey compost tea. Couple years later I took a class there but they had abandoned the practice. It is popular with UK gardeners and mentioned in old gardening books.
Got a tiny plant from that garden and nursed it in Florida , it grew but eventually it just dies. Ditto, roots I got online.

What does it in , I think, is our very rainy , humid, hot summers as we are semi tropical. You said you grow in zone 10, we get frequent 90 degrees with a lot of rain for several months. Would it grow under those conditions? I tried the Bocking 14 , now want the spreading kind.

In my garden, comfrey roots are distinguished by the black skin of their roots. Those roots don't even look like comfrey to me! But I suppose that is climate effects.

Bower, uh oh, thanks for commenting —I will watch them carefully as they grow. Obviously, I only want real comfrey. I don’t want borage or anything else.

Came from Ebay. I got 6 and they were really cheap. Much cheaper than some others. I wondered about it but since they have always died in the past didn’t want to spend a lot. They are not Bocking 14 , the preferred variety but I was looking for one that would reproduce readily.

Well once the shoots come up, you'll soon see if it's comfrey or not. Whwoz is right, those little shoots should become leaves if you put it in the ground so they can push up.
There may be different varieties of comfrey that have different root color, IDK! But I can tell you for sure if the leaf is correct.

[mention]MsCowpea[/mention] I've tried to find comfrey here for a while. Finally found a puny 1 gal plant for $10 after calling several nurseries far and wide. Not easy to get for sure. Some people didn't even know what comfrey is, "What did you want, concrete?" But the nursery I got it from is very old and it's where I find unpopular plants. They were asking $35 for a 5 gal. I looked and the plant was not much bigger than the 1 gal. Most of the stuff there is in pretty bad shape anyways. Glad to say my comfrey is looking pretty good now. No you don't want borage. I grew some from seed while searching for comfrey. Horrible scratchy leaves! I hated touching it so much I pulled them all out. Flowers were sure pretty though.

[mention]habitat-gardener[/mention] at what point can I propagate comfrey? Perhaps I should wait till next spring so it can get even bigger? I can't wait to add them to my compost which I'll start again late fall.