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forget me not advice please

canalsideconniecanalsideconnie Posts: 33
in Problem solving
Where is it best to plant forget me nots?  I have tried many times without success.  I have purchased 6 plants but unsure where to put them.  I have a border of stones (no soil) round my block paving, would they thrive there as I have read they like poor soil conditions.  Compost doesn't seem to suit them.  I would love them to grow successfully.  Many thanks.        

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    edited April 2022
    I would plant them in reasonably good soil to get them going. By next year, they'll have seeded all over the place. You could also try a packet of seeds in the gravel if that's where you want them.
    PS poor soil is not the same as just stones. You need some soil mixed in
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • canalsideconniecanalsideconnie Posts: 33
    Thank you, think I will also try the seeds in the stones, think they could flourish there.  I will try in the borders again, but previous attempts have been unsuccessful.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I planted them by parking my car next to a patch of them at the office and then parking on my driveway at night. They've sprung up all over the place in my street now.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • canalsideconniecanalsideconnie Posts: 33
    Oh wow, I've tried for a few years to grow them, but no luck.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I had one packet of seed once and now I get them all over the place every year. Sun or part-shade, they don't seem to mind. Don't deadhead if you want them to set seed. The plants will die after they've finished flowering, around mid-late May here  usually (they're biennial), then you can pull them out and shake them around to distribute the seed where you'd like them next year. They'll already have shed some by then. The seedlings are easy to recognise when they come up too, plain green oval with a distinctive central vein, to avoid weeding them out.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • PoppypussPoppypuss Posts: 143
    If you can’t get them to take off but really want the forget me not type flowers then maybe try Brunnera instead? Have to confess I also had problems with forget me nots, mine going all mildewy and seeding everywhere so I ended up pulling them all out. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Seeding all over then dying, sometimes going mildewy along the way, is what forget-me-nots do after they've finished flowering. They're biennials, in flower for around six weeks for me, then they're over until their offspring grow and flower the following spring.
    Brunnera are nice too, particularly the silver-leaved ones. They also self-sow if you don't dead-head but much less prolifically and the seedlings tend to have less good (or no) leaf markings.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I quite like FMNs but one of my springtime pleasures is pulling them out when they're starting to look a bit manky and discovering all of summer planting space that they were hiding.
    We're coming up to that time here. ( rubs hands together with glee)
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Acres of them here - their common name is one of the most appropriate I've yet come across :D
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