Myosotis scorpioides
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Common Name: true forget-me-not
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Boraginaceae
Zone: 5 to 9
Native Range: Temperate North America
Height: 0.5 to 1 feet
Spread: 0.75 to 1 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Color: Blue
Bloom Description: Sky blue with yellow center
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Low
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Wildlife: Attracts Butterflies
Tolerates: Wet Soil, Deer
Uses: Rain Garden, Water Plant, Will Naturalize

Culture

Easily grown in organically rich, consistently moist to wet soils in full sun to part shade. Grows in up to 3” of standing water. Plant in containers in water gardens. Plant directly in the muddy banks of streams or ponds at the water line. Plants will spread by creeping rhizomes but are not overly aggressive. Pinch young plants to promote bushiness.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Water forget-me-not (or true forget-me-not) is a rhizomatous marginal aquatic perennial that typically grows 6-10” ( less frequently to 18”) tall on decumbent to upright angular stems. Light sky blue 5-lobed flowers (1/4” diameter) with yellow centers bloom in branched scorpioid cymes that uncoil as the flowers open. Long spring through summer bloom period. The cymes, particularly when in bud and early bloom, resemble a coiled scorpion’s tail, hence the specific epithet. Shiny, oblong to lance-shaped, bright green leaves (to 4” long). Synonymous with Myosotis palustrus. Native to moist meadows and stream banks from Europe to Siberia, this wildflower has now escaped cultivation and has naturalized in wet places throughout many parts of North America. The common forget-me-not of borders and woodland gardens is Myosotis sylvatica.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Susceptible to mildew and rust.

Garden Uses

Wet areas including stream banks, water gardens, bogs or pond edges. Will naturalize to form an attractive ground cover.

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