Forget-me-not - do you forget this?

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In Russia, the forget-me-not is also called the gourd, the feverish grass, the handful. Different peoples add up their legends about this flower, but for some reason in different countries they are all connected with the concept of fidelity, good memory. So, in Greece they talk about the shepherd Lycas, who, saying goodbye to his bride, gave her a bouquet of forget-me-nots; the same tale exists in German folklore. Russian “forget-me-not”, English ‘Forget-Me-Not’, German ‘Vergipmeinnicht’ - all about the same.

Forget-me-not (Latin “mouse ear”) is a genus of plants of the Borachnik family.

For example, they say that many years ago a couple in love went for a walk along the river. Suddenly, the girl saw an adorable blue flower on the edge of a steep bank. The young man climbed down to pluck him, but could not resist and fell into the river. A strong current caught the young man, only he managed to shout to his beloved: “Do not forget me!” As water covered him with his head.

This is only one of many legends about how a delicate blue flower with a yellow eye in the middle received such a remarkable name. Forget-me-not was also considered a witching grass: a wreath of forget-me-nots, worn on the neck of a loved one or laid on his left chest, where the heart beats, fascinates him and holds him tightly of all chains. The same power is attributed to the roots of the plant. England also loves forget-me-nots - here it is associated with a popular festival, known as the “May Queen” holiday.

The genus Forget-me-not has about 50 species that grow in humid places in Europe, Asia, America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Forget-me-not description

Forget-me-nots are one, two, and perennials. The stems are branched 10-40 cm tall. Leaves are sessile, lanceolate, linear-lanceolate or scapular. Forget-me-not flowers are usually blue with a yellow eye, sometimes pink or white, collected in an inflorescence - curl. It blooms from May to mid-June. The fruit is a nut. In 1 g of 1500-2000 black, ovoid, shiny seeds, the germination of which lasts 2-3 years. When sown, they germinate in 2-3 weeks. They love forget-me-nots very much in England, France, Germany, Sweden, where it often adorns spring flower gardens. And in Russia it is difficult to find a garden, wherever this delicate, touching flower grows.

Of the 50 species of this genus, 35 grow in the territory of the former USSR. Krylova (Myosotis krylovii), a perennial with more developed fruitless shoots growing in Siberia and Central Asia, and a two-three-year-old Sakhalin forget-me-not (Myosotis sachalinensis), which is similar in the Far East. Annual forget-me-nots grow only in the mountain forests of the Caucasus.

These are related forget-me-nots (Myosotis propinqua) with a rather large corolla and Lazistan (Myosotis lazica) with small blue corollas and short fluffy pedicels, as well as a perennial forget-me-not (Myosotis amoena) - a long-rhizome plant with a large flat limb of the corolla, its seeds have a small white appendage .

Forget-me-not rare-flowered (Myosotis sparsiflora) with small corollas and marginal tassels is a common sight in disturbed habitats, sparse forests and clearings with fresh soil in European Russia, Siberia, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Forget-me-not cultivation

Location: grow better in shade and partial shade. True, forget-me-nots can grow well in sunny areas, but here the duration of their flowering is reduced from 30-40 days to 20 days. The exception is Alpine forget-me-not, which is photophilous.

The soil: forget-me-nots grow well in areas with moist, fertilized soil. Too rich soils, especially fertilized with fresh manure, cause active, continuous growth of leaves, which violates the natural rhythm of seasonal growth and development characteristic of these species.

Forget-me-not breeding

All forget-me-nots are perfectly propagated by seeds, sowing of which is carried out in May-June in cold greenhouses or exploratory ridges. They are planted in a permanent place at the end of August or in the spring of next year. Give abundant self-seeding. Varietal forget-me-nots are propagated by cuttings. In May-June, the tops of growing shoots 4-5 cm long are taken on cuttings, which are planted in ridges and necessarily shaded. Forget-me-not, characterized by a superficial fibrous root system, tolerates transplantation throughout the season, even in full bloom.

If you bought forget-me-not seeds in the fall and want to get flowering plants in the spring, then sowing seeds should be done in October-November. The soil is filled with a box, a pot or a bag of milk (be sure to make a hole in the bottom). The soil should be light (two-thirds - turf land + one-third - river sand), before sowing it is shed with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.

At a suitable lunar calendar, seeds are sown. Forget-me-not seeds are sown scattered across the surface of the soil. It is important not to bury the seeds, as they germinate faster in the light. Before sowing, the seeds are dipped in slightly salted water and the emerging ones are discarded. Forget-me-not seeds sinking to the bottom are shed with clean water, slightly dried and sown on the moistened surface of the soil. Seeds are lightly dusted with light soil and compacted with a special plank. The surface should be flat enough so that water does not drain during irrigation.

Before the first shoots appear (after 4-6 days), the soil is covered with paper, on which watering is carried out. After the seedlings form one or two true leaves, a pick can begin. Forget-me-not dive into boxes or in pots with moist peat soil. The distance between the seedlings is 3-4 cm. The boxes are installed in a cold greenhouse so that the plants pass the necessary cold period, but in March the boxes are transferred to a warm room.

Since forget-me-not is a shade-tolerant plant, even on cloudy days, its seedlings do not need additional artificial lighting. However, it is necessary to constantly maintain sufficient soil moisture.

In late April, often already with buds, forget-me-nots can be planted in flower beds, where it will bloom in May. After flowering, a short period begins (June, July), when the forget-me-nots lose their decorativeness, since the plant completely dies, and new shoots that appear after the germination of fallen seeds have not yet acquired a decorative appearance. The question of whether to rely on self-sowing forget-me-nots, each gardener decides in his own way.

If the seeds are left on the plant until they are dispersed, then most often seedlings (seedlings) appear throughout the garden, clogging other areas. In addition, faded forget-me-nots are a very unattractive sight. Apparently, it is worth leaving two or three plants until the seeds ripen, and then sow the freshly picked seeds in a place reserved for forget-me-nots. The remaining plants after flowering are removed from the flower garden. Due to the fact that forget-me-nots are planted quite densely and in the shade, their planting practically does not need weeding.

Using forget-me-nots in garden design

Forget-me-nots are indispensable for early spring decoration of flower beds and balconies, are beautiful in large groups near the water.

Forget-me-not swamp can grow greatly and take root in the moist soil of shallow water.
Forget-me-not Alpine garden is indispensable in flower beds, where the assortment is replaced during the season.

Forget-me-not with tulips, daffodils - the most common spring flower gardens in many countries of Europe. Forget-me-not looks good in borders; they are also used for planting in rockeries. You just need to make sure that it does not grow too much, crowding out the neighbors. Overgrown forget-me-nots near the lily of the valley, under a canopy of trees are good. At the end of May, these are the most beautiful, amazing sections of your garden.

These flower beds do not require a large investment of labor, since lily of the valley and forget-me-not form a dense ground cover, which prevents the growth of weeds. They bloom almost simultaneously, and after flowering, flower beds can decorate bushes planted here of higher shade-tolerant plants. These are ferns: a female nomad, male thyroid, Volzhanka, Kamchatka meadowsweet, hosta, etc., scattered on the background of low thickets of forget-me-nots and lilies of the valley.

Forget-me-nots look great not only in the flowerbed, but also in a pot or balcony drawer. Most of all, their delicate flowers look when there are a lot of them. On the balcony or terrace, forget-me-nots are good in combination with other plants.

Forget-me-not is also used for cutting, although it is better to make a bouquet from it not from individual shoots, but using the entire bush. In this case, you only need to wash the roots from the soil. Put in water, in a beautiful ceramic vase, a forget-me-not bush will decorate your home for almost two weeks.

Partners: matching in color and contrasting biennial plants. For example, dark blue pansies, pale blue forget-me-nots and bright yellow wallflower.

Types of Forget-Me-Not

Forget Alpine - Myosotis alpestris

Grows on stones in the alpine zone of the Alps, Carpathians, the Caucasus.

This is a perennial with a short rhizome and a dense rosette of basal grayish, hairy leaves. Low (5-15 cm) dense bushes in the spring are covered with a mass of flowers. The flowers are dark blue, in fairly short inflorescences. Blooms profusely in May 40-45 days. The plant is photophilous, typical of rocky habitats. Propagated only by seeds. On the basis of this forget-me-not, numerous garden varieties are bred. Real Alpine forget-me-not in culture is rare.

Forget-me-not - Myosotis palustris

It grows along streams, outskirts of marshes, shores of water bodies in the western regions of the European part of Russia, Western Transcaucasia, southern Siberia, Central Europe, the Balkans, and Mongolia.

Perennial plant with a short life cycle. Stems strongly branched up to 30 cm tall, tetrahedral. The leaves are lanceolate, large, up to 8 cm long and 2 cm wide, bright green. The flowers are pale blue, relatively large (up to 1.2 cm in diameter), first in dense curls, which stretch as they bloom profusely and continuously from May to fall, due to constant shoot formation. Faded shoots die off.

It has a number of varieties, of which Thuringen is the most spectacular - with dark blue flowers. In the USA, on its basis, the Semperflorens variety was obtained - with bright blue flowers and a yellow center. Forget-me-not swamp is used to design the banks of water bodies; it is planted along watercourses. Propagated by seeds.

Forget-me-not Alpine Gardening - Myosotis x hybrida hort

Perennial plant cultivated as a biennial. Garden forget-me-not is a very undemanding plant. It grows well and blooms profusely in the sun and in the shade, but prefers partial shade. It blooms in the second half of spring, in Central Russia it is mid-May. It tolerates spring drought and even frost to minus 5 ° C. Blooms for a long time (30-40 days), plentifully. At the end of June-July, numerous seeds ripen. Seeds crumble, and in July seedlings appear, which in August form dense beautiful bushes.

Victoria (Victoria) - a variety that is recommended by US companies, bushes are rounded, compact, 20-30 cm tall, flowers are pale blue;
Blauer Korb - bushes up to 30 cm tall, columnar in shape, flowers are dark blue;
Blue Ball (Blue Ball) - compact bushes, 15 cm tall, blue flowers, flowering abundant;
Indigo - compact bushes, 15 cm tall, blue flowers;
Carmen King (Carmine King) - bush up to 20 cm in height, flowers are dark pink;
Compinidi (Compinidi) - a low (15 cm) compact plant with dark blue flowers;
Music (Music) - higher (up to 25 cm) forget-me-not, flowers are dark blue;
Miro (Miro) - low grade (15 cm) with light blue flowers;
Rosilva (Rosylva) - a very beautiful compact (up to 20 cm) forget-me-not with pink flowers.

But all these forms, when propagated by seeds, form plants of different heights (15-30 cm) with flowers of blue, pink, and sometimes white.

Forget-me-not forest - Myosotis sylvatica

It grows in the forests of Central Europe, the Carpathians. A typical forest plant with a delicate green leaf, shade-tolerant, moisture-loving.

Perennial plant grown as a biennial. Bushes densely branching up to 30 cm tall. Stem leaves oblong-lanceolate. Flowers up to 1 cm in diameter, numerous, sky-blue, on spaced pedicels, collected in apical inflorescences - curls. It blooms from May 40-45 days. Bears fruit. It has numerous varieties with pink, blue and blue flowers, for example, Blue Bird.

Forget-me-not flower - Myosotis dissitiflora

Homeland - Swiss Alps.

Perennial plant cultivated as a biennial. The flowers are large, dark blue. There are varieties with blue, pink and white flowers. In culture since 1868.

We look forward to your advice on growing this wonderful flower!