How to Grow and Care for Forget-Me-Not - The Spruce

A short plant (often just 5 inches at maturity) with a medium growth rate, forget-me-not has hairy stems. The five-petaled flowers grow in cymes ... > Gardening Plants&Flowers Flowers HowtoGrowandCareforForget-Me-Not By DavidBeaulieu DavidBeaulieu DavidBeaulieuisalandscapingexpertandplantphotographer,with20yearsofexperience.Hewasinthenurserybusinessforoveradecade,workingwithalargevarietyofplants.DavidhasbeeninterviewedbynumerousnewspapersandnationalU.S.magazines,suchasWoman'sWorldandAmericanWay. LearnmoreaboutTheSpruce's EditorialProcess Updatedon03/24/22 Reviewedby BarbaraGillette Reviewedby BarbaraGillette BarbaraGilletteisamastergardener,herbalist,beekeeper,andjournalist.Shehas30yearsofexperiencepropagatingandgrowingfruits,vegetables,herbs,andornamentals. LearnmoreaboutTheSpruce's ReviewBoard Factcheckedby SarahScott Factcheckedby SarahScott SarahScottisafact-checkerandresearcherwhohasworkedinthecustomhomebuildingindustryinsales,marketing,anddesign. LearnmoreaboutTheSpruce's EditorialProcess TheSpruce/KaraRiley InThisArticle Expand Care Types Propagating GrowingfromSeed Overwintering Bloom CommonIssues FrequentlyAskedQuestions BacktoTop Forget-me-notisvaluedforitsattractiveflowers.Althoughthebloomsareusuallyblue,othercolorsdoexist.Abonusfeatureisthatthebudsprecedingthebloomsarepink,soyougettwocolorsforthepriceofone.Ashortplant(oftenjust5inchesatmaturity)withamediumgrowthrate,forget-me-nothashairystems.Thefive-petaledflowersgrowincymeswithasinglefloweronacentralstemsurroundedbyadditionalbloomsonbranchingstems.Althoughsmall(3/8inch),theyprovideagoodcolordisplaybecausethey'renumerous.Technicallyashort-livedperennial,mosttreatforget-me-notasabiennial,sowingseedinmid-summerandenjoyingthebloomsthefollowingyear.Duetothefactthatthisplantreseedsreadily,itisconsideredtobeinvasive. CommonNames Forget-me-not,woodlandforget-me-not,ornamentalforget-me-not BotanicalName Myosotissylvatica FamilyName Boraginaceae PlantType Biennial MatureSize Upto1ft.tall(butcommonlyshorter),withasimilarspread SunExposure Full,partial SoilType Moist,well-drained SoilpH Mildlyacidic,neutral,mildlyalkaline BloomTime Spring,summer FlowerColor Blue,white,yellow,pink HardinessZones 3,4,5,6,7,8 NativeArea Europe TheSpruce/KaraRiley FedericaGrassi/GettyImages mikroman6/GettyImages Forget-Me-NotCare Forget-me-notisaversatileplant.It'stolerantofrabbitsanddeer,drawsbutterflies,andcanserveavarietyoflandscapefunctions.Forexample,itcanbeusedintheyardas: Agroundcover Apottedplantforuseonporchesandpatios Incottagegardens Inwoodlandgardens Inrockgardens However,sinceitdoesspreadonitsown,careshouldbetakentopreventself-seedinginareaswhereyouwantacarefullycontrolledgarden.Toaccomplishthis,deadheadspentbloomsandanyseedheadsthatformtostopunwantedspread. Warning Becauseitreseedsreadily,forget-me-notisinvasiveandconsideredanoxiousweedintheMidwest,oneoftheU.S.regionswhereithasnaturalized. Light Atthesouthernendofitsrange,giveforget-me-notafternoonshade.IntheNorth,youhavetheoptionofgrowingitinfullsunorpartialshade.Themoresunlightitreceives,themorewateritwillneed. Soil Thisplantgrowsbestinrich,consistentlymoist,well-drainedsoil. Water Forget-me-nottolerateswetsoil.Attheveryleast,itneedstobegrowninsoilkeptevenlymoist. TemperatureandHumidity WitharangethatcoverssixUSDAzones,forget-me-notwithstandsbothheatandcoldwell,However,duetoitssusceptibilitytopowderymildewdisease.Itisn'trecommendedforareaswithintenselyhot,humidsummers. Fertilizer Fertilizeforget-me-notwithcompostorwithageneral-purposefertilizerannually. TypesofForget-Me-Nots TheMyosotisgenuscontainsanumberofspeciesotherthanMyosotissylvatica,including: Small-floweredforget-me-not (Myosotisstricta)Broadleafforget-me-not(Myosotislatifolia) TherearealsocultivarsofMyosotissylvaticathatgiveyoumoreoptionsforcolor,plantsize,orflowersize: BlueBasket:taller;deeperblueflowersMusic:flowerslargeranddeeperbluePompadour:compactgrowthhabit;pinkflowersSnowball:whiteflowersUltramarine:smallerplant;deepblueflowersVictoriaBlue:compactgrowthhabitVictoriaRose:pinkflowersVictoriaWhite:whiteflowers Pruning Thekeytoitsdisplayvalueismassingseveralplantstogetherandlettingthemgetasbigaspossible,becausetheflowers,althoughprettyandnumerous,aresmall.Forthisreason,there'sadisincentivetocuttingbackforget-me-notstems.However,ifyouwishtocurtailreseeding,deadheadtheflowers. PropagatingForget-Me-Not Forget-me-notreseedsallonitsown.Infact,itwillmultiplyovertime.Onceyouintroduceittoyourgarden,you'llhaveitformanyyears(unlessyouactivelysuppressit).Ifyouwanttopropagateit,takeadvantageofthisfactbydiggingupsomeoftheplantsthathavespreadfromtheoriginalandtransplantingthemtootherareasinspring.Spacethem10inchesapart. GrowForget-Me-NotFromSeed Forget-me-notplantsaregrowneasilyfromseed,asevidencedbytheplant'sabilitytoreseedandspread.Youcanintroducethisspringbloomerintoyourgardeninthefollowingway.Buyapacketofseedbyearlysummer.Selectaspotinthegarden,andpreparethesoilbyrakingittoloosenitandsmoothitout.Inmid-summer,broadcasttheseedacrossthesurface.Waterlightlyafterwardandoftenenoughtokeepthesoilmoist.Seedlingswillpopupbyfall;bloomingwilloccurthefollowingspring. Overwintering Forget-me-notiscold-hardy.Unlessyou'retryingtogrowitnorthofzone3,youdon'tneedtotakemeasurestowinterizeit. HowtoGetForget-Me-NottoBloom Itsflowersareonly3/8inchesacross,butitproduceslotsofthem.ItbloomsforseveralweeksduringAprilandMay. Forthelongestbloomingperiodandthemostflowers,provideitwithrich,consistentlymoistsoil.Forget-me-not,asabiennialorshort-lived,reseedingperennial,re-bloomsannuallywithminimalcare. CommonProblemsforForget-Me-Not Gardenpestsleaveforget-me-notalone.Butitissusceptibletotwodiseases: PowderyMildew Powderymildewisthatlight-colored,powderycoveringyouseeonaplant'sleaves.Seldomfatal,itdoestemporarilyruintheappearanceofplants.Minimizeitbyavoidingoverheadwatering. Rust Rustproducespustulesthatlaterbreakopenandreleaseorangesporesontheleaves'undersides.Butyou'remorelikelytonoticetheyellowspotsitcausesonthetoppartofthefoliage.Likepowderymildew,itthrivesindampenvironmentsandisbestpreventedbyavoidinggettingfoliagewet. FAQ Howlongcanforget-me-notlive? Forget-me-notdiesbackeveryyear,butitself-seedsverywell,soyourpatchofforget-me-notcouldlastfordecadeswithpropercare. Canforget-me-notgrowindoors? Thoughitcangrowindoorsincontainers,itdoesn'toftenleadtosuccess.Theplantneedsthegardensoiltothrive. Whatarealternativestoforget-me-not? Therearesomeplantsthatlookquitelikeforget-me-not,includingShootingStar,Bunchberry,orRoseVervain. ArticleSources TheSpruceusesonlyhigh-qualitysources,includingpeer-reviewedstudies,tosupportthefactswithinourarticles.Readoureditorialprocesstolearnmoreabouthowwefact-checkandkeepourcontentaccurate,reliable,andtrustworthy. WoodlandForget-me-Not.UniversityofGeorgiaCenterforInvasiveSpeciesandEcosystemHealth. Myosotis sylvatica.MissouriBotanicalGarden. Forget-me-not(Myosotis).TheConnecticutAgriculturalExperimentStation. 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