Forget - Me - Nots

Hello, I have some Forget - Me - Nots & Chinese Forget - Me - Nots which I grew from seed in spring but I am not sure if they come back next year. Any ideas?? Also same thing applies to Coreopsis I grew from seed. Are they perennial?

 

Hi Kayleigh,

They're called Forget me Nots because once you plant them they will come back from seed forever

 

Oh fantastic . They have all died and gone brown now do I cut them down now or let them die back on their own accord. Also do I need to protect them in the greenhouse during winter!?

 

Don't know about the coreopsis, I only do wild flowers, but let the forget me Nots drop their seeds before tidying up. They will be fine outside.

 

Ok thank you Zigs

 

Kayleigh, coreopsis is a perennial plant and can survive a not too hard Winter. I take cuttings in Autumn which root very easily and keep them to dot around the following Spring. I have an unheated mini greenhouse and keep them in there over Winter,

 

Ok thanks . I will have to protect mine then as they are in the ground. How do I take cutting from them? As that sounds a fab idea because the flowers are lovely!

 

Look along the main stem, follow it down to where you can see a strong,young side shoot- best without a flower bud forming. Gently ease it away from Mum to keep abit of her on the shoot. It's called a heel cutting.They are best gathered in the morning and I try to give MOTHER a drink the night before. Trim it to fit into a small flowerpot and have a polythene bag , a plastic beer cup or a plastic 1Ltr bottle ready. Seive some fine potting compost and fill your pot. I like to use a hormone rooting powder to assist in success but it isn't always necessary with "easy rooters". Dip the cutting in the powder,shake to remove excess and gently press into the compost. Allow the pot to draw up water from a dish until its had enough, then cover with your mini "Greenhouse" and stand it somewhere in good light but out of strong sunlight. Should be rooted in 2 to 3 weeks. Then take off the GH and let it toughen up during Autumn.
Good luck with your "plants for free" experiment,
Jenny

 

Thank you I shall have ago