Forget-Me-Not Flowers: Introduction and Care Methods, Suitable for Giving to an Ex
Forget-me-not (scientific name: Myosotis sylvatica) is a plant in the genus Myosotis of the family Boraginaceae. Forget-me-not is a perennial herbaceous plant, 30-60cm tall. The whorled cyme inflorescence is 10-15cm long; forget-me-not bears small light blue flowers, and the flowering period is April to May. It has strong adaptability, prefers a dry, cool climate, and dislikes damp heat. It loves light and tolerates drought. The optimum growing temperature is 20°C-25°C.
It is distributed in Europe, Iran, Russia, Pakistan, Kashmir, India, as well as Jiangsu, Northwest China, North China, Sichuan, Yunnan, Northeast China and other parts of mainland China. It grows in areas at altitudes from 200 m to 4,200 m. It mostly grows on mountain forest edges, hillsides, under forests and in valley grasslands.
In a German legend, when God had finished naming all the flowers, a little flower that had not been named cried out: "Oh, my God, please do not forget me (Vergiss mein nicht)!" So God gladly answered: "That shall be your name."
Another story goes like this. When the Creator was almost finished giving colors to all the flowers, he heard a tiny voice saying: "Please do not forget me! (Vergiss mein nicht!)" But by that time only a little bit of blue was left. Still, the forget-me-not flower happily accepted this pale blue. This is the origin of the name of this little blue flower.
Perennial herb. Stem upright, single or several clustered, 20-45 cm tall, usually branched, sparsely covered with spreading rough hairs, sometimes with curled hairs. Most leaves are basal, lying flat on the ground; with short stalks, the stalks winged; leaf blade obovate-spatulate, 8-10cm long, 3-6cm wide, apex rounded, base gradually narrowing into a short stalk, margin with slight wavy teeth, pinnate veins obvious beneath; stem leaves opposite, 2-3 pairs, sessile, spatulate, 1.5-2cm long, 0.7-7cm wide, apex obtuse, base rounded, half-clasping the stem, margin with wavy teeth.
Whorled cyme inflorescence, each whorl with 5-8 flowers, each flower with 2 small bracts beneath it, bracts linear-lanceolate; pedicel 8-10mm long; calyx tube short, calyx deeply 4-cleft to the base, lobes linear-lanceolate; corolla bell-shaped, half-cleft, pale green, 1-1.2cm long; stamens 4, inserted at the bends between the corolla lobes, alternating with the lobes; ovary incompletely 2-locular, sessile, style short, glands arranged in a ring at the base of the ovary.
Soil selection: Forget-me-not prefers dry conditions and deep, loose, airy, slightly alkaline sandy loam, such as with decomposed organic fertilizer and slow-release compound fertilizer. The planting spacing is 30 cm x 40 cm, and the planting depth should be such that the substrate is slightly above the root crown. After planting, the temperature should be kept below 15°C for 2 months, to help the plant pass through the vernalization stage and facilitate normal growth and flowering.
Nutrition management: Of the total amount of fertilizer applied during the growing period, 70% of the nitrogen, potassium and so on is applied as base fertilizer and 30% as top dressing; all phosphate fertilizer is applied as base fertilizer, and top dressing is generally applied once per season. Applying potassium fertilizer and boron fertilizer during the flowering period helps improve the quality and yield of cut flowers. Forget-me-not prefers a dry environment with good drainage and dislikes waterlogging. During the whole growth period, the amount of watering should be properly controlled, otherwise it will lead to a decline in flowering quality and yield. Remember this!
Propagation techniques: Forget-me-not can be propagated in two ways: by seed sowing and by tissue culture seedling cultivation. Sowing is generally done from September to January of the following year. The seeds are photophobic, so after sowing the seeds they should be covered with a little soil and humidity should be maintained. Under the optimum temperature of 15-20°C, germination takes 10-15 days. When sowing, be careful that the temperature does not exceed 25°C; after the sprouts emerge, ventilation is needed; when the seedlings have more than 5 true leaves, they are ready to be planted out. For tissue-culture seedlings produced by tissue culture technology, plant them out when they have 4-6 leaves.
My personal experience: Last year I planted two pots of forget-me-nots, and they flowered within a few months. Unfortunately, when I planted them I sowed the seeds too densely, so the plants did not grow very tall, nor were they sturdy, so when planting you should also pay attention to plant density.