Mid-Atlantic Gardening: News (not so) good. Part 2, 1 by Gitagal

Gitagal wrote:
Sally,

Now that you have Forget-me-Nots---you will always have them! It can't be helped!

They self-seed prolifically--all over. You can help this along by cutting off the dried stems after all the bloom is gone and, carefully, shaking/rubbing them over another bed where you would like them to grow.
They are best planted amid all the Spring-flowering bulbs as the FMN's will be in full bloom when the bulb foliage looks at their worst....

The seeds will come up later on the Fall and survive the Winter as little whorls of leaves. Then they march on in the Spring and bloom their heads off. etc...etc...etc....
The seed is very small and, if you collect it, will be mixed with a lot of chafe. No problema!!!
To collect seed--gently cut off the dry flower stalks (you will drop about 100 seeds anyway!) and put them all in something like a white, plastic wash pan. Let them dry a bit and then just rub the stems to release all the seeds....

To separate the seeds from all the big chafe--sift the contents through a wire mesh sieve.

Just went outside and took these pictures for you.
Here is a clump if F.M.N.'s in one of my beds....

edited to say that in the Spring--as the new clumps of F.M.N.'s come up everywhere--you can easily dig one up and move it to wherever you want--with NO ill effects....Water right after re-locating them. That is a standard rule for transplanting anything!!!!
Gita


This message was edited Apr 16, 2010 12:51 PM