Almost all women of our planet are not indifferent to flowers. Someone likes strict tulips, someone likes gorgeous roses or exotic orchids. How many people - so many tastes. But in nature there is a flower that will attract everyone's attention. These are forget-me-nots, similar to droplets of the sky with a sun inside, with a delicate and delicate aroma.
History of Origin and Appearance
It is hard to say where the plant came from. In one source, the Alps (Switzerland) are called the birthplace of forget-me-nots, in another - some regions of northern Europe. This type of plant grows on almost all continents (Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Australia), in areas with a humid climate. In nature, a blue carpet of forget-me-nots can be found on sunny clearings, riverbanks and streams, and even in swamps.
Most popular flower
There are many stories and legends about the origin, each country has its own, and everyone tells of love, loyalty and parting with lovers.
One name can already understand what a forget-me-not flower looks like - once seen, its gentle blueness is impossible to forget.
Forget-me-not flowers: the appearance of a plant
Forget-me-not belongs to the genus of herbaceous plants of the Burachnikov family. The flower grows up to 30 - 35 centimeters, perennial, with branched stems and small flowers collected in inflorescences. The flowers themselves are pale blue, pink and even white.
Name history
Forget-me-not - a flower of forests, gardens and front gardens, small and delicate with petals of the color of the sky and a sunny core. It is also called the "mouse ear", that's how Myosotis is translated from Latin. Popular names are as follows:
- neck of the neck
- febrile grass;
- handful.
According to legend, Flora, the goddess of the whole plant world, did not notice a small flower and forgot to give him a name. Unnoticed, he got scared and began quietly repeating: “Don’t forget me!”, Having heard this, Flora, smiling, gave him the name - Forget-me-not. Since then, people began to claim that he has the ability to return forgotten memories. But this is just a legend.
Why it is called forget-me-not is not exactly known, but the name has the same translation from almost all languages, and means: "Do not forget me, please!"
The flowering period lasts almost five months, from May to the end of September, it all depends on the variety.
Species and varieties
In the genus, there are more than 45 species of flower, mainly many of them forest, found throughout the planet. But the most popular are: forget-me-not marsh, forget-me-not forest and forget-me-not Alpine garden. These types of plants can most often be found in the front gardens of private houses and in public parks.
Where grow
Forget-me-not swamp
A plant reaching a height of up to 30 centimeters, with branching tetrahedral shoots. It is characterized by unpretentiousness and plentiful long flowering (May-September). In this period, after flowering of the shoot, a new one appears, replacing the dead.
Forget-me-not field
It is considered a two-year or one-year-old weed growing up to 60 centimeters, with small flowers on leafless gray brushes. Distributed in almost all southern, western and eastern parts of Russia.
Forget-me-not creeping
It grows in the Arctic parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Thanks to the scalp of the shoots, it protects itself from the cold. Petals of a plant are compared in color with sapphires.
Forest
You can meet this two-three-year-old plant in the Carpathians, in the European part of Russia and in the Caucasus. It prefers to grow in moist meadows, in forests, in the mountains, with enough moisture. Forest forget-me-not flowers of blue tones with oblong and island petals. Flowering time is short: May-June.
Forget Alpine
Unpretentious mountain flower in nature grows in the mountain system of the Alps, Carpathians and the Caucasus. Mountain "fairy" loves the light and is not afraid of stony soils. A grassy bush from 5 to 15 centimeters with large green-silver leaves and inflorescences located on them with bright blue, violet, white or pink flowers. The beauties of the mountains will delight all lovers of wild beauty, the main thing is not to miss the moment when forget-me-nots bloom. It blooms only 40-50 days.
Forget-me-not pink
Another perennial representative of the Borage family with flowers of a dark pink color. He loves semi-shaded areas with fertile soil, moderate humidity. Resistant to drought and frost.
White forget-me-not
Early flowering spring plant. A kind of alpine forget-me-not, only the color of the flower petals is white.
May Queen, a symbol of forests and meadows, with a fragrant aroma - forget-me-not. It is also called a sign of the coming spring due to early flowering. Everyone wants to have a blue carpet of wild flowers in their front garden, but flower gardens and gardeners most often grow its hybrid varieties.
Many varieties of forget-me-nots
You can cultivate flower beds and garden plots with the help of garden forget-me-nots by making a dense floral carpet of attractive flowers of delicate color. Recently, this particular variety has been the most popular, due to its unpretentiousness and endurance.
Attention! In winter, not snowy, it is better to cover areas with a garden forget-me-not; without shelter, the plant may freeze.
It is advisable to grow flowers for two years, in the third year they grow strongly, decorativeness is lost: the flowers become small and sparse, and the stems are very long and lay on the soil.
Forget-me-not small-flowered
A small annual representative of its kind 3-15 centimeters, with flowers pointing up.
Rare flower
It differs from its relatives in a small number of lonely inflorescences. Above the oval oblong leaves, slightly roughened, rise small petals of pale blue almost white flowers.
Rare flower
Forget-me-not planting in open ground
There is no particular difference between planting species; it may only require different care. Shade-loving forget-me-nots will be uncomfortable in direct sunlight and vice versa, varieties that feel great in the sun will bloom faster, being out of place.
First you need to prepare the soil:
- Find a suitable place to land.
- Remove weeds.
- Fertilize unfavorable soil with mineral additives in the fall.
Seed cultivation
The seeds are planted in May-June in specially prepared greenhouse places, and in late August or early September (if the autumn is late) they transplant where forget-me-nots will constantly grow. Do not worry, thanks to the superficial fibrous root system, it is possible to transplant even flowering specimens.
Attention! In order to select the defective seeds, you need to put them in salted water. Bad and spoiled ones will come up, and good ones will remain at the bottom. The selected seeds should be washed with clean water, dried, and you can start sowing.
The recess for the seeds should be small - 1-2 centimeters, leave the row spacing about 30 centimeters. Thin out the seedlings later, leaving the gap the same.
Seedlings
There are two types of planting: spring and autumn. In spring, seedlings are planted in the soil with buds that have already begun, if they want the flowering to be in the current year, in April. The process is simple: seedlings are lowered into wells with water and fall asleep.
In autumn they plant it in open ground in order to see a tender plant blooming in spring, mulch it with peat and cover it in great frosts.
The best landing place
Not all varieties in the same place feel comfortable. The swamp forget-me-not will lose its color and fade in a sunny place, and the Alpine will die in the shade. Forest forget-me-not - unpretentious plant, partial shade is better for it, but in full shade and in the sun it will delight you with beautiful coloring of flowers and brightness of leaves.
Forgetting forget-me-nots
Three times of fertilizing the soil will be enough. Also:
- before flowering, young forget-me-nots should be fertilized using mineral fertilizers;
- in autumn, organic and mineral dressing will be needed;
- in the spring, a little peat and humus are introduced into the soil.
Winter preparations
To ensure a safe wintering, special efforts are not required. Forget-me-nots endure cold snap. But in severe frosts and the absence of a natural bedspread (snow), it is necessary to cover flower beds with flowers.
Breeding
There are three ways to reproduce:
- by seeds;
- cuttings;
- division of bushes.
To check the quality of the seeds, you can dip them in salted water, if they emerge, then they are not suitable for planting. Although this is not enough when required, because forget-me-nots successfully reproduce by self-sowing. Just plant a few flowers in the right place, and in the future there will be a clearing.
If we are talking about varietal forget-me-nots, then it is better to propagate them by cuttings. At the beginning of summer, cuttings of about 5 cm are cut. They need to be planted together with sprouted seedlings.
Attention! Dividing the bushes is an effective way to propagate forget-me-nots, because the plant has a strong root system.
Diseases and Pests
Proper watering and care is the key to healthy plant growth and prevention from diseases and pests. But still it is susceptible to infection by powdery mildew and root rot.
Copper chloride will help get rid of gray rot, and drugs sold in specialized stores or folk methods will help get rid of aphids and cruciferous fleas. With powdery mildew, it is less likely to spray flowers and provide good air circulation (if it is a greenhouse), treated with biological fungicides.
Landscape Use Options
Forget-me-nots can often be found in Europe. Europeans love to use them in garden compositions along with tulips and daffodils. Near the reservoir, forget-me-nots look especially impressive. On the plot you can find their place in the flower garden and in the shade of gardens. In the city, the plant can often be seen in a pot on the balcony.
Landscape use
Thus, in appearance a miniature ordinary flower, symbolizing eternal love, fidelity and memory, is unpretentious, which is why it has earned popularity among flower growers of the world.
