Description
The wood forget-me-not is a biennial of the borage family (Boraginaceae). In the wild it occurs in the temperate zone of both hemispheres; in Poland it grows wild in thickets, woods and along streams. The plants reach 20–40 cm in height and have a bushy habit with upright stems.
In the first year the forget-me-not forms a rosette of oblong leaves. It flowers in the second year, from mid-April or early May until the end of June. The individual flowers are blue and tiny, gathered in loose, elongated inflorescences. Garden varieties may also have white, pink or pink-carmine flowers.
They are used for edging and planted near ponds, often among other plants. They look wonderful as underplanting for tall bulbs. They are also suitable as cut flowers for small posies and bouquets.
Requirements
Forget-me-nots do best in lightly shaded or partially shaded places.
Propagation
Forget-me-nots are propagated from seed sown in a seedbed in June or the first ten days of July. The seeds germinate after 7–14 days. Young plants with 3–5 leaves are planted in nursery beds 10–15 x 25–30 cm apart and moved to their final position in autumn. They can also be planted straight into their final position.
Care
They are not fussy about soil, but are best planted in humus-rich, moist soil. They need little feeding and cope well with our climate. They can be transplanted even at the start of flowering.