Forget-me-not. Myosotis
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Flowers | 18 comments
Forget-me-nots really come into their own when they self seed. They just don’t seem to work when they are sown and transplanted. They need to find their own place and more often than not appear beside a perfect companion and astonish me.
If you don’t have any, scatter some seed around your garden and they should grow. Within a couple of years they will surprise you.
They are part of large Boraginaceae family. This includes Pulminaria, Borage, Helitorope and Comfrey to name just a few. Most of this family share the same attribute – hairy leaves. These are not obvious but when you are next in the garden with a moment to spare, take a look.
Forget-me-nots are at their best in the spring but they will self seed and there will be a second flush during the summer months. They are happy in both sunny and shadier borders and easy to pluck out if they are invading a special space, earmarked for something else. They can look stunning in a vase. When the spring ones get a bit old and scraggy rip them out and give them a good shake over the border to broadcast their seeds.
They pop up all over our garden. I spotted that they had started to drift into the raspberry patch this afternoon. A gentle reminder to mark the early summer flowering canes immediately so I can sort out the mixed patch later in the year. We now have ribbons on the canes below the rounded buds.
I always welcome the forget-me-nots. The frothy drifts of small blue flowers are stunning and remind me of summers past. They also prompt me to stop, look and enjoy the moment. And that’s what gardening is all about, enjoying the moment whilst creating a future.
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Hi Kate
They don’t mind being in a pot. They may flower if we have an Indian summer. It’s hard to tell.
I live on a narrow boat and was given some forget me not seeds at a recent wedding.(June)
I have planted them in a large pot and there are now very good looking leaves but will they survive being in a potand will they flower?
I am going to shake a few plants around when he’s not looking!
The Goldfinches in the feeders where you are working will probably gradually increase. I have been feeding mine for around 10 years now and the flock has grown in number. They brought two youngsters yesterday. They are so noisy and so adorable when they flutter their wings. The adults are steadfastly ignoring the forget-me-nots today concentrating on the niger seed and sunflower hearts! Goldfinch equivalent of KFC I expect!
Hi Maz
Good idea! Thanks for the advice on Goldfinches – I’ll pass it on.
Hi Maz
Lucky, lucky you.
I’m working for some avid birdwatchers ATM and they (and I) were thrilled to see that they have just a pair of goldfinch feasting on their Niger seed.
The thought of 20 birds makes me feel almost faint :).
I think that your husband might do this. Especially if he is planting something else for the summer.
Handcuff him next May!
I have just arrived at this site through googling “goldfinch forget-me-nots”. I have a flock of upwards of 20 goldfinches which feed on the sunflower hearts and niger seed which I put out all year round. Today the whole flock suddenly descended on my, by now, very scraggy looking forget-me-nots. I have never seen this before although the forget-me-nots have always spread around my small garden. The only problem is the plants are right next to the hiding place for next doors cat. Will have to be extra vigilant!
I wonder whether my gardening husband usually pulls the plants up before they get to this stage?
Maz
Hi Kristine
You need to puddle them in when you plant them. This means digging a hole – filling it with water, allowing this to drain away before toping up the water again and planting the plants.
If by any chance the plants do die leave them in situ as the seeds will naturally spread around your garden and you should have self seeded forget me nots next year.
I was wondering about the transplanting – a friend gave me a couple buckets of them because they were running rampant in his garden. I just put them in and the first day they looked great but after a couple days they’ve just keeled over. Should I cut them all way down and just hope for better luck next year?
Thanks!