FORGET ME NOTS

MY FORGET ME NOTS ARE ALMOST FINISHED FOR THE SEASON. TO CLEAN THEM UP AND TO TIDY THE GARDEN IS IT ALRIGHT TO CUT THE TOPS OF? DO I SHAKE THE HEAD OVER THE GAREN TO LOOSEN THE SEADS?
I DO NOT WANT TO HURT THEM . THE SHOW IN THE SPRING IS BREATHTAKING

Hi Brutuslady, I'm no expert, but I have had forget-me-nots and I don't think you can hurt them. They are annuals, so will die anyway, leaving their seeds behind. You can cut the tops off or pull them out out of the ground. You can shake them around where you want more plants next year or if they are ripe enough, the seeds will just fall on their own.

Hi Brutuslady, you are so right, Forget-me-nots are just wonderful as the hearald the start of spring here in Scotland too, so yes, if you want to have more plants for next year, just cut them down and either scatter the seeds now, or shake them into a dry paper bag and scatter them in Autumn, remember there are Annual ones that you plant, grow and flower all in the one year, then there are by-annuals that you plant one year and they grow BUT DONT flower till the following year, but there is also the perennials that plant seeds in autunm and they flower every year, so I am giving the instructions for the annual ones, so even if you dont scatter the seeds from them, they will self seed and do the job for you, but it is good if you choose the actual site, then you know where to expect the blue flowers to grow. good luck, WeeNel.

Hey, everyone. Sorry, Brutuslady, I don't have an answer for you but rather a related question to ask of the group! I found a package of Forget-Me-Not seeds lying around that I had in fact "forgotten" about. :) I was surprised to find that they were marked "perennials" as I didn't know that there was a perennial variety. I started the seeds indoors about six or seven weeks ago and now have six happy plants each about three inches high or so. Can anyone give me advice about where and when to plant these in the ground? They do prefer shady spots, right? WeeNel, you mentioned planting the perennial variety in autumn. Would it hurt to put these in the ground now? Thanks for any help!!! Good luck to you with yours, Brutuslady.

I have had forgetmenots in my gardens for years. They are so easy. I only planted once and never shake them or take seeds off. I just let them go to seed and they must fly everywhere because I have them popping up every year in different places. I have so many that now I'am cutting them before they go to seed.

Mine always come back bigger and better. They are very easy to transplant. I move them around all summer if I feel like it. DM

Hi there Easterlily good to here from you again, your Perennial For-Get=Me- Nots, will be a wee bit small to plant out at this hot time of the year, so if I were you, I would devide them, put them into indevidual pots, not too big in size, go bigger as needed, then try to keep them in a dapled shade area till end of summer, about September, then the soil is still a bit warm but the plants will have so much more root system to withstand the cold that will hit them in winter, they will die down in winter, but will come back in the spring, they look really different from the little annual type, but are taller and stronger than these, remember to stick a label into the pots so you know what you have if they die down, they like a dampish soil, so add planty leaf mould or compost, they also like a shaded area, if in the winter you feel it is to cold, cover them with an old clear juice carton with the lid removed, cut the bottom off, and this will give them protection from the hardes frost, there is also one called Myosotis Sylvatica, that grows in water, so dont know which perenniel one you have. hope this helps you, good Luck. hope you get a good show and you enjoy the perfume from them in spring. WeeNel.

Here in my cold zone 4, I have never protected them. They do not need to be coddled, in my experience in my garden.

Thanks, everyone! Good to hear from you, too, WeeNel. I always appreciate your input, not to mention your stories (have any new anecdotes to share???)! :) Sorry about hijacking your thread, Brutuslady. Hope you don't mind too much. I actually started my forget-me-nots in small stryofoam cups. Probably not the best environment, but they're growing well so far! So, even though they're in separate containers, I'm planning on taking your advice and transplanting them to new pots just a wee bit larger until fall. Thanks again for the advice! Happy gardening, everyone.

I planted some forget-me-nots for the first time earlier this year. Although we had flooding here they are actually in planters and weren't affected by any flooding. Can anyone offer any advice as to why they may have failed to flower? I'm thinking of not bothering next year.

If they're the perennial sort, sometimes perennials won't bloom their first year, so you might give them another chance and see if they bloom next year. Otherwise, it could be that when they normally would have wanted to bloom it was too cloudy and rainy, even if they didn't get flooded they probably didn't get much sun either, maybe the cool rainy weather may have made them think it wasn't summer, or something like that. Or if they were fertilized or watered a little too much, that might make them grow a lot but if they're too focused on green growth they might not make flowers.

I grow several kinds of forget-me-nots here in Alaska... in fact, it is our state flower! For my little nursery business, I start Blue Ball, Victoria Rose and Victoria White. These are cultivars that tend to grow in tight clumps with the flowers growing from the center of the plant. They have wintered over for me, on occasion, but they never do well the second year.

Years ago, I started woodland forget-me-nots in my yard. They have a more upright habit with the stems rising high above the plant. The botanical name is Myosotis sylvatica, and it is a biennial. It grows from seed the first year, blooms the second, throws seed, then does not come back the next year. If you deadhead before the seeds have matured, you might not get your second year crop, and it is possible you will have no blooms, since the seedling will be first year plants. Eventually, they seem to work out a cycle so you have blooms every year. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/233/

Myosotis scorpioides, water forget-me-not grows in the wetter areas of my lawn. It appears to be a perennial, but is also an avid self-seeder. It blooms a bit later than M. sylvatica and sprawls a bit more. As the flowers fade, they turn pink. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2433/

Cynoglossum amabile, Chinese forget-me-not, is also considered a forget-me-not. It is definitely an annual, and it has lovely vivid blue flowers. The seeds are larger and have a sticky feel like velcro. They don't seem too fond of our cool, wet climate, so they probably do well in sunnier, hotter climes. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/258/

Actually, there are many, many plants that are called forget-me-nots: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=Forget-me-not&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search&offset=0

My question is: I pulled and saved the seeds from the forgetnenots......yet I still have all these little plants popping up everywhere....some are actually quite big....They must be from seeds that fell off before I pulled the "actual" plants? My question is: Getting ready for the winter season here in Maine....Do I pull them up? I don't believe these are perineals, guessing that it's the re-seeding thing going on? Need to make room for "mum"s yet don't want to "destroy" the little things.....Please help.....thanks.....

I leave mine and let them spread and then get rid of the ones I don't want in the spring. They are easy to pull. Also I have some in the same spot I have had for years and they get bigger every year if I don't pull them. I don't know if they are concidered perrenial, but mine are. DM

I just transplanted some of the smaller ones today........I think I will do the same with the bigger ones.......hate to loose them, know what I mean? I am surprised at how they "take off" and go "everywhere". We'll see in the spring.........
thanks

I transplant mine all the time. Sometimes move the same plant 4-5 times a year and they bounce right back. They are the hardiest plants I've seen. I love them. I have given so many plants away to family and friends from just letting them go to seed. It seems like when people see mine they want some. DM