Garden Forget-Me-Not
(Woodland Forget-Me-Not)
Myosotis sylvatica (Myosotis alpestris). BORAGINACEAE.
Planting and Growing Garden Forget-Me-Not
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow garden forget-me-not in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of garden forget-me-not
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for garden forget-me-not
- Season of bloom and planting time for garden forget-me-not
- When, how deep, and where to plant garden forget-me-not
- How to plant garden forget-me-not
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of garden forget-me-not
- Landscape and container uses of garden forget-me-not
- Comments about garden forget-me-not and its features
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Growing Garden Forget-Me-Not
Many cultivars of upright, branching annual but mostly biennial herbs, 6–24 in. (15–60 cm) tall. Hairy or sticky, deep green, broadly lance-shaped, pointed leaves, 2–4 in. (50–100 mm) long.
Common cultivars include Myosotis sylvatica ‘Blue Bird’, ‘Carmine King’, ‘Ultramarine’, and ‘Victoria Blue’.
Garden Forget-Me-Not are native to the mountains and plains of Colorado to Missouri in North America. Chinese or Forget-Me-Nots (Cynoglossum amabileare) are distantly related true annuals.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Many tiny, pink, purple, white flowers, 1/8–1/4-in. (3–6-mm) wide, in open, ball-shaped clusters, in spring–autumn.
Best Climates
Ground hardy, zones 5–8. Self-seeding.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil or, in water features, shoreline sites. Fertility: Rich–average. 6.5–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Early spring in filtered sun to partial shade, 6–8 in. (15–20 cm) apart. Sow seed of biennial cultivars for flowers the following season or plant nursery containers.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist. Fertilize monthly. Garden Forget-Me-Not are biennials; they produce few flowers the first season, dying back in autumn. Leave the plants in your garden’s soil, or cut them off 2–3 in. (5–8 cm) above the soil; they’ll bloom splendidly the second year. Progagate by division, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for beds, borders, containers, edgings in cottage, formal, rock, shade, woodland gardens or water feature shorelines. Good companion for spring bulbs. Invasive. Disease resistant. Slug, snail susceptible.