Where and when can I buy Forget Me Not Plants?

So I've been on the hunt for some forget me not plants to put in both my garden and a customers but seem to be falling short. I bought some reduced from a garden centre back in January this year but haven't really seen any available in other garden centres since.

I was advised by my local nursery that they would be getting them in in a week or so but when I phoned to see if they were in I got "we don't know until the delivery shows up". So I'm scratching my head a bit here!

I'd even buy them online at this rate if I could find them.

 

I can’t help but share your loss. Our garden is usually a sea of blue forget-me-nots but this year we only have a few and all in just the one area

 

If anybody wants forget me nots I have a lot of them all over the place. Free to collect.

 

It is a bit late for forget me nots now. They are in full flower, soon going over. My garden is usually thick with them each year but very few this year, perhaps the long wet winter was too much for them. I did lift some self sown seedlings which I planted with my tulips which have done really well. They look lovely at present, in full flower, I usually shake them around the garden when I weed them out later. There are a couple of lovely clumps growing on the top of the compost heap as well.

 

Get seed (buy or get someone to save some for you), chuck it around the garden towards the end of May, and don't be too tidy about weeding/mulching. They'll come up like weeds in the late summer/autumn to flower the following spring, then set seed and die (true biennials). I just shake the old plants around when I pull them up, let them grow where they like and weed out the ones that come up in amongst other plants. I have loads as usual, they seem to take whatever the winter throws at them (wet, dry, cold, mild, whatever). They do die messily though, and you have to be patient and not too quick to pull them out if you want them again the next year. Maybe not the best plant for the tidy gardeners!

 

Premier Seeds have a stock of them in 3 different colours 1.7gm for £1.29 plus postage of course. Link below for a mixture...

Forget Me Not Myosotis Mixed | Flowers | Premier Seeds Direct ltd

 

I know summer is near when I can pull out the forget me nots. It's amazing how much space they take up.
I like them for a couple of weeks and then I get fed up with them.
Being an untidy gardener, I agree that you shouldn't be too particular about weeding. You can lose many lovely wildflowers that way. But you can also nurture PITA that pose as related plants .

 

I thought they died after flowering,?
I dont think you would find any for sale now as they are on the way out.

 

Agree, I did exactly that last May. I don't have a huge number yet but they are looking very pretty (alongside the bittercress and celandines!)

 

Most die some don't but the young fresh ones are better.
They don't die pretty so best pulled out.

 

Thanks everyone. My plants I bought in January are just about to flower and so will buy some seeds instead.

Out of interest. If I sowed the seeds in trays would they grow just as well as in the ground?

 

I tried them in trays once and didn't get such good plants. No idea why, they don't have a deep root system. Maybe worth a try if your seed packet contains only a meagre quantity.

If you PM me your address I'll save you some seed when it's time to pull the dead plants up.

 

I planted forget-me-not seeds on the Winter Equinox last year, outside, using the frost for naturally stratification. At some point today I'll be planting them out in small clumps (I'll probably regret it in years to come tho'), the same with the polyanthus. Pretty sure they'll not flower this year, but I'm sure they will next year (hopefully). I prefer to plant them in small food containers so I can keep an eye on them.

 

I've never tried sowing them directly in the ground, but in trays in a cold frame, and then planted in clumps like @Jenny_Aster .

I know Brookside Nursery sell them as plug plants or "garden ready" plants if you wanted to make a note to order later this year. That could be considered an expensive way of buying them, but it does guarantee success .

 

Many thanks for the offer.

I currently have a few plants in my garden I bought which are about to flower. I have no idea how to collect the seeds from them though.

They look much healthier than the plants I bought from the garden centre this earlier this year!
Did you use multi purpose or garden compost to sow into?

I have so many of those little plastic boxes and no seed trays so thanks for the tip. I'm guessing you pierce the bottom with holes for drainage?

I tried to sow a packet of seeds I bought a few years back but to no success. I do wonder if that part of the garden being in shade in the winter and also my mulching of the border had something to do with it

I will note that nursery down and put in an order with them later in the year. Many thanks for that