Types Of Forget-me-nots, Cultivation Features

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Ode to forget-me-not

Forget-me-not, this flower is akin to the first love, the purest and most real, which will go through your whole life, and it is simply impossible to forget about it. The delicate blue petals of the forget-me-not, like a gentle look - warm …

For a long time, forget-me-not has been a symbol of our world. Everything lies in the special color scheme of different parts of the flower. So, the yellow center, which is assembled from tiny stamens, symbolizes the sun, and the blue petals - the sky.

The donated forget-me-not flowers are a silent oath of eternal fidelity. And if you want to remind of yourself again to someone whom you have not seen for many years, then just give a small bouquet of forget-me-nots.

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Features of culture

Forget-me-not (Myosotis) belongs to the Borage family, by its nature it is a herb that has more than eight dozen species in the world.

They live in the temperate zone of the European continent, as well as in Asia, South Africa, and are also found in Australia. In our country, in natural conditions, there are more than three dozen species, some of which are annuals, and others are real perennial crops that adore humid and shaded habitats.

If we take the average indicators by species, then we can say that the height of this plant ranges from 10 to 35-45 cm, the leaves are lanceolate, and the flowers in most cases are painted in blue tones, but sometimes they are cream, pink or white and are enclosed in inflorescences with unusual name - "curl".

Types of forget-me-nots

Naturally, all three dozen species are not used in culture. Only some of them are in the greatest demand, first of all, it is the Alpine forget-me-not. It is a perennial plant with low (no more than 15 cm) bushes, in the center of which dark blue flower eyes suddenly bloom. Unlike most types of forget-me-nots, Alpine loves well-lit places, and grows wild on the slopes of mountains or rocks.

The first flowers of this species appear already in early May, and you can admire them for almost a month. Alpine forget-me-not reproduces well by sowing seeds, in this way many varieties have been bred, which are actually spontaneous hybrids.

The next type of forget-me-not, also related to perennials, is the swamp forget-me-not. However, this species can be called a giant, because often its plants exceed a height of 30 cm. Plants of the marsh forget-me-not have large leaves, painted in a dark green tint, and bluish flowers, which can reach 2 cm in diameter. Flowering in mid-May, the flowers fade away and replacing each other, they can maintain the beauty of the plant until the beginning of autumn, when, under the influence of the first frost, the shoots die.

For forget-me-not swamp, the bank of a river or an artificial reservoir is perfect, because she simply loves wet soil, on it the plantation grows literally before our eyes. This species has a "descendant" - the magnificent Thuringen variety, which has dark blue flowers and is often used specifically for the design of artificial reservoirs.

Another typical perennial plant is the forest forget-me-not. It grows, as you might guess from the name, in woodlands. There she forms curtains, which in an instant (in May) are covered with a carpet of sky-blue flowers, often exceeding a centimeter in diameter. They live up to one and a half months.

The plant loves light, but grows well in small shade, preferring moist soils. The forest forget-me-not is the progenitor of numerous cultural forms, which, however, are not so easy to get. But if you succeed, then you can be amazed by their range of colors, which ranges from pink to dark blue, almost black.

And, finally, I would like to tell you about the sparse-flowered forget-me-not, which naturally grows, occupying vast territories, in the Swiss Alps. This plant is perennial, but due to the fact that it grows quickly, it is used in culture only as a biennial plant. Thanks to the rather large dark blue flowers, breeders became interested in her, who bred cultivars with pale blue, pink and even milky white flowers.

Using forget-me-nots in gardens

Well, now let's smoothly move on to using these flowers, although everyone probably understands that the most suitable place for forget-me-nots is parks, gardens and orchards and, of course, flower beds of summer cottages.

Due to the fact that the forget-me-not, growing, forms a rather dense carpet, weeding will not become a problem for you. And if you take into account the active growth of these plants, they will be very appropriate in any rockery and rock garden, and to revive the landscape, as if playing the role of roses on the cake, forget-me-not will be very useful in the Moorish lawns. v The main thing when growing forget-me-nots is to make sure that when it grows, it does not crowd out its neighbors, who are as cultured as itself.

Planting forget-me-nots in a flower garden, on a lawn, not far from a small reservoir or an artificial stream is a real squeak of fashion. Forget-me-not will become a lifesaver when decorating a shaded part of the garden, but in this case it is better to use containers or flowerpots for growing this flower. True, from time to time they will still need to be exposed in the sun.

Among other things, forget-me-not may well become a decoration of a balcony or loggia, especially if it is glazed. For such places, a ceramic pot is the most suitable dish.

Being a culture of peace, forget-me-not will feel good and complement daffodils, pansies, tulips, lilies of the valley, daisies, violets. If you want to achieve maximum naturalness, then plant it next to the ferns.

Few people know that tall varieties of forget-me-nots are cut, and bouquets of such rare flowers are very expensive. However, in order for the bouquet to live as long as possible, you will have to work hard. It is necessary to dig out the whole bush, wash the roots from the ground and, without moving them away from the flower, put them in a vase. Only in this way can a bunch of flowers stand for more than a week.

In addition, forget-me-not is also a medicinal plant, but it must be harvested strictly during flowering. It is this collection that can help smooth out inflammation or rid a person of the unpleasant smell of sweat.

Reproduction of forget-me-not

Knowing what to plant and where to plant, let's talk about how, in fact, get what you need to plant, in other words, about reproduction. Naturally, the easiest way to propagate forget-me-not is by sowing seeds. There is no need to cheat here, and seedling pots, boxes and other equipment are not at all necessary.

You can simply sow seeds in open ground, the main thing is to prepare this soil in advance so that the soil is loose, moist and nutritious. Only in such soil in May it is possible to sow seeds, scattering them over the surface and lightly sprinkling them with peat, and make sure that they are sprinkled by half a centimeter. After about two weeks, with sufficient moisture, the first shoots will appear.

You should start picking seedlings immediately when the first true leaves appear, often this period occurs in mid-summer. At this time, you can transplant them to a permanent place.

This method is simple, however, it is suitable for reproduction only of species forms of forget-me-not, but it is better to propagate varieties vegetatively. Naturally, the most suitable method in this case will be the method of green cuttings. In order to get good plants, it is necessary to cut off the tops of the shoots with a length of about 5 cm. It is better to cut them off in early summer, and plant them in beds with nutritious soil and shaded from the sun at midday.

Usually this method is quite effective and gives a yield of about 85-87% of rooted cuttings. But this method cannot be called simple, it is much easier to propagate the plant by dividing the bush, for this, the bush is dug up and simply divided into several parts, trying to make sure that each part has a well-developed root system.

Read the next part. Agrotechnics of forget-me-nots →

Nikolay Khromov

Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Researcher, Department of Berry Crops, GNU VNIIS im. I. V. Michurina, member of the R&D Academy