A wide range of uses (Forget Me Not)

Member Name: Firefly54

Product:	Forget Me Not
Date:	07/06/01 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Attractive, tolerant, happy in lightly shaded areas, long flowering season, non-invasive

Disadvantages: Can become untidy by end of flowering season , if grown as a carpet or in a group, this is not a problem

Forget-me-not, or Myosotis is a flower that is often underrated... taken for granted. In my area, it grows wild, and is so tolerant that it is easy to think of it as a weed. My mother-in-law allows it to grow in the border wherever it self-seeds, because it is attractive and non-invasive. But she does not regard it as being a 'real' garden flower, and this attitude seems to be a popular one, at least as far as I have found.

I too have allowed the plant to grow wild, removing it from borders when it becomes straggly. At this point it is still full of the tiny blue flowers with their yellow star centres, but I like to see compact plants, and the wild variety does become a little untidy.

However, I have recently discovered three things. The first is that, with the minimum of care, this plant can be improved dramatically, and that cultivated varieties are easy to grow from seed; bearing larger flowers on stronger, more compact, bushy plants.

The second thing is that if planted in mass, they produce a carpet of beautiful blue through the late spring. Put them around red tulip bulbs, and the effect is quite dramatic, as the tulips flower above the heads of the blue sea of forget-me-nots! Leave them to die down, and they will self seed for next year, and many years to come. Alternatively, try them between wallfowers, and again, they will form a carpet under their taller companions.

The third thing that I have discovered to great advantage, is that although the seed packets suggest a well-drained soil, they also appear to do well around the edge of my pond. Plants have self-seeded in the pots of other plants that sit in the shallow water, with their surfaces just above water level. This widens the use of the plant considerably, and offers the water gardener a plant that can share the pot of stonger, or later, marginal plants such as reeds or irises, or be put in its own pot. The top must be above the surface for the se
ed to germinate - the higher the better - and the flowers offer a beautiful contrast to the yellows and whites that abound in a pond during the spring. Put them near golden yellow King Cups, and the yellow star centres will be enhanced.

I have bought the species 'Ultramarine' for the depth of its blue colour, and its compact habit, to grow as border edging. Pink and white varieties also exist, but don't have the impact of the blue, although they are very pretty. As yet, I have only attempted to grow the wild variety with marginal pond plants. The seeds all germinate rapidly, and seedlings are easily transferred - do it on a cool day to prevent them flagging. The plants are shallow-rooted, and easily cleared at the end of their flowering time. They will not invade or choke other plants, although they spread into a bushlike plant. Best grown as a biennial initially, then allow to self-seed.

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