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How to handle Forget-Me-Nots

19 years ago

I am doing fall cleanup. I have lots of Forget-Me-Nots that sprouted in windowboxes and such. Shall I transplant these into the garden -- or just pull them? I guess my real question is: will these bloom next spring from these *plants* or will the over-wintered plants just die anyway? Don't want to bother transplanting if they'll just die off over the winter. I am in winter-frigid Western New York. Thanks so much!

Sandra

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Comments (8)

Judy_B_ON
19 years ago
Forget me nots are rampant self sowers and spreaders. If you want a garden filled with forget me nots, put 'em in the garden. If you want room in your garden for other plants, toss 'em in the compost.
springcherry
19 years ago
You can transplant them now and they will come back to bloom in the spring. And self-seed. At which point, if you so choose, you will have even -more- compost.

But oh what lovely compost.

Springcherry
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Yes, the blue is perfect, and they are just charming. I will try to direct sow part of my seeds, save some to WS, just press them in the ground a little, and see what happens. Will try to keep them in groups because of weeding. That's why I don't like to broadcast seeds. Thanks for the tip about cutting back and shaking. Some annuals do perform more like perennials in Georgia, may even here in Iowa, but I'm still learning. It says annual on the sack of seeds. Maybe they will perennialize in the right spot; window boxes are hardly a fair test. You'd think whatever it was I stuck in there I would have noticed because the seeds are larger and slightly prickley. I sure don't remember planting this kind in that box. As long as mine get a few blooms and have time to set seed, that will be good enough for this year.
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aka_peggy
19 years ago
And if you don't transplant them, you'll still have more forget-me-nots in the spring than you know what to do with.
sbellman
Original Author
19 years ago
Thank you...yes, I know how rampant they are :) But I have empty, freshly tilled gardens. I will transplant the Fortget-me-Not, since you indicate they will overwinter. They are so easy to pull and discard as desired. They are lovely come spring. Thanks to all of you!
paul299
19 years ago
The seedling that germinate in the fall over winter green and leafy untill spring. The seeds germinate for me when the ground is still frozzen. I get clumps of fifty seedlings every spring in my pots ,as rodents like to collect them into small piles.
gardengardengardenga
19 years ago
I enjoy how forgetmeknots have a way of self seeding and appearing in a pleasant surprise sort of a way. ANd I especially enjoy seeing creeks along the side of the road with the cheery blue flower sprays.
Karchita
19 years ago
Forget-me-nots are the state flower of Alaska and they grow throughout the state, which means they survive temps of 60 or 70 degrees below zero. I don't think you have much to worry about in balmy Zone 6.
alpiner
19 years ago
Forget-me-nots is a name that applies to different species of plants. The Alaska state flower is the genus Myosotis and isn't all that easy to grow from seed. It's the 'true blue' color of the Myosotis that's quite striking. I wouldn't think that this is what's sprouting from the window boxes.
Other native forget-me-nots are the genus Eritrichium and garden varieties can be other genera as well.

One would have to know what 'forget-me-not is actually sprouting in the window boxes.

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