Forget-me-not Cultivation and Growing Tips

• These plants are very easy to grow from seed. Sow one year and they flower the next because most varieties are biennials.
• Forget-me-nots are usually blue but are also found in pink and white and shades of blue.
• Forget-me-nots are dwarf, compact plants upto a foot tall! A fantastic addition to spring beds and borders.
• The plants complement golden Daffodils yellow Wallflowers and Primulas.
• Sow May -June and thin out. Plants self sow all over my garden so clear out any invaders.
• Plants can also be purchase to avoid the problems of sowing your own.

Forget-me-not Common Names and Varieties to Consider

• Myosotis is the Latin name for Forget-me-nots. It is a family of 50 species. See main varieties at the foot of this page
• Historically it got the name ‘mouse ears’ due to the shape of its leaves.
• Varieties to look out for include Ultramarine and Blue ball or for Alpine Forget-me-nots ‘Ruth Fisher’.

Unusual Facts about Forget-me-nots

• Newfoundland in Canada used the Forget-me-not as a symbol of remembrance of that nation’s war dead.
• Germans and Freemasons use forget-me-nots as a symbol not to forget the poor and desperate. (Germany may need a good crop with the economy in such a state.)

Old & Odd Tips From Gardeners Tips on Forget-me-nots

• Plant in drifts around the edge of ponds.
• Pull up and compost plants as they finish flowering – you will still get lots of seedlings.
• Use forget-me-nots as a cut flower when in bud to prolong vase life.

Horticultural Sources and Advice on Forget-me-not

• You can often obtain seeds or plants from our mail order company of choice Thompson & Morgan
• Powdery mildew can be a problem in dry soil. Pull up and destroy infected plants.
• Species include; Myosotis alpestris – Alpine Forget-me-not
  Myosotis arvensis – Field Forget-me-not
  Myosotis asiatica – Asiatic Forget-me-not
  Myosotis azorica – Azores Forget-me-not
  Myosotis caespitosa – Tufted Forget-me-not
  Myosotis discolor – Changing Forget-me-not
  Myosotis latifolia – Broadleaf Forget-me-not
  Myosotis laxa – Tufted Forget-me-not, Bay Forget-me-not
  Myosotis scorpioides – True Forget-me-not
  Myosotis secunda – Creeping Forget-me-not
  Myosotis sicula – Jersey Forget-me-not
  Myosotis sylvatica – Wood Forget-me-not
  Myosotis verna – Spring Forget-me-not

Credits
forget-me-nots by Mags CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Dandelion and Forget-me-nots (1) by Purrrpl_Haze CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Flowers from my granny’s garden by sermoa CC BY-SA 2.0

It is believed that the Kew Primrose, Primula Kewensis was bred from Primula verticillata and Primula floribunda around 1905. It should be high in the world’s top ten Primula varieties. It flowers yellow or lemon-yellow and has these attractive leaves when grown in the cold Alpine house.The downy powder is called meal or Farina and gives a grey-green appeal to the leaves similar to some show Auriculas. The seeds grow true and do not hybridise.

There are approaching 500 species of Primulas and numerous societies who specialise in the genus. The National Auricula and Primrose society Northern branch, The American Primula Society

As seen in the exotic green houses of the Belgian National Botanical Garden.

More Primula seeds from Thompson & Morgan

Credits
Primula by Badly Drawn Dad CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Primula Kewensis to start the week by Vainsang CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Dionysus was the son of Zeus and the Greek god of fertility and wine.
The Greeks need all the help they can get at the moment. Lending one of their gods to the name of these small cushion plants is a form of reciprocation I suppose.

Dionysia Background to the Plants

• The plant genus Dionysia has around 50 known species
• Dionysia are found in the high mountains of Iran and Afganistan.
• Dionysia species grow on limestone under overhanging rocks or in crevices.
• Plants prefer to face south to encourage flowering.
• Dionysia is in the family Primulaceae.

Study More Background on Dionysia

• Dionysia curviflore tapetodes a species covered on Gardeners tips
• There are lots of photographs on Dionysia 4 You
• The Genus Dionysia, written by Chris Grey-Wilson and published by the Alpine garden society.
• According to Kew ‘One way that alpine plants and Dionysia can cope with their harsh mountain environment is to form a low mound or cushion, hugging the stony ground or clinging to cliffs’
• The Plant List details 66 scientific plant names of species rank for the genus Dionysia. Of these 54 are accepted species names by WCSP the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.

Dionysia are not easy to grow well but the mass of flower is very rewarding if you get the conditions just right.

There are as many varieties of Ranunculus as there are buttercups in a meadow. Not surprising as a buttercup is a Ranunculus family member as is this Ranunculus calandrinioides.

What is Ranunculus Calandrinioides

• This perennial plant is happy grown in containers or an alpine house.
• Growing 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide.
• In suitable climates some of the 200+ species can be useful as ground cover outdoors.
• The roots are fleshy and thick and different species may be tubers or fiberous rooted.
• The lance shaped leaves are bluish-green and upto 3 inches in length.
• Flowers are cup shaped white or pink 2 inches wide.

Growing Ranunculus Calandrinioides

Germination guide from B&T Seeds
Ranunculus calandrinioides seeds will usually germinate in 30-90 days, even under good conditions germination may be erratic. Sow seeds about 2mm deep in a Well drained seed sowing mix at about 10°C.

Seeds will mostly germinate as the weather warms up in Spring, some may germinate during the Summer or Autumn but are more likely to stay dormant until the following Spring.

Various Ranunculus from

Thompson & Morgan

Not everyone wants a Leylandii hedge, in fact few gardeners want Leylandii at all. Fortunately there are other conifers and shrubs to suit most people. I have just introduced some new dwarf conifers into my rockery with a range of alpines.

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Aurea’ AGM

• This is sold as being ideal for small gardens and rockeries
• It will grow a pyramid shape with sprays of yellow tipped blunt shaped leaves.
• Chamai, means ‘dwarf’ Aurea means gold and Obtusa means blunt shaped.
• After 10 years it should be no more than 2 feet high by 18 inches wide
• It is now planted in well drained soil in full sun but with some shelter from the wind.

Picea pungens ‘Montgomery’

• This I bought as a grafted shrub with blue needle like leaves
• A slow growing blue coloured specimen due to grow to 20-30 inches in 10 years.
• These pictures look a good bit taller than the shrub I hope to grow. Well here’s hoping the graft is on small stock.
• Female cones are cylindrical, green when young, maturing to pale brown.

Cryptomeria Japonica ‘Golden Promise’

• Taking 20-50 years to reach 24 by 18″ this is a true slow grower
• It should make a rounded shrub with green foliage turning creamy gold in the heat of summer.
• By autumn there will be a purple tinge to the leaves but it is a hardy evergreen.
• Also known as Japanese cedar.

Tips and Comments

• I was inspired to try more plants after visiting Perennial’s York Gate Garden. They have many prostrate and vertical conifers on display but disappointingly will not let me show you the photographs. Not very charitable from the Gardeners Royal Benevolent charity!
• I bought the plants at Slack Top nursery.
• The visible labels are made from copper. You scratch the name into the soft material and they should age gently but remain legible. I bought them from Wilkinsons and hope they help me with the names as my memory fades.

I discovered a 6 inch pot in my greenhouse with a label saying Habranthus but I don’t know where I got the contents from. There were a couple of short, green, narrow leaves and little else until this week when flowers erupted from the soil on 4 inch stems with petals nearly as long.

I water my greenhouse with a hosepipe spray except when I am adding fertilizer and recently I have been misting over all the pots and plants. You can see how the spray has stuck to the Habranthus flower.

Habranthus is a genus in the Amaryllidaceae family with species from Central and South America extending into southern North America. They have narrow, linear or strap-shaped leaves. Their flowers are very similar to Zephyranthes and both are called rain lilies.

This variety of Habranthus is flowering in late Summer (Sept) and offers a delicate touch to colour with minimum fuss. Habranthus bulbs should be quite hardy in the UK.

What is a Rain Lily

Rosemary Sims from Daves Garden gives the best description ‘Like the Hippeastrums, Habranthus is hardy where ever the ground does not freeze and summers are hot. They are also excellent and forgiving pot plants but should be left outside during summer so the rains can touch them.
This is among my favorite of all rain lilies because of its size and that it continuously blooms in waves from April through about September (on the gulf coastal plain). The large Hippeastrum-like flowers all face in the same direction and give a charming effect. They are about 4″ long and across and on stems from 12″ to 24″, depending on how much rain has spurred them to bloom and whether they are in shade or sun (shorter in sun). The leaves are about 1/3″ wide and are flat and floppy but not unattractive in the garden.’
There are over 20 species of Habranthus to choose from and other plants also called Rain Lilies such as the Zepyranthes and Cooperia.

With all the rain we have been getting in England it may be worth tracking down some bulbs and giving them a try. The flowers are very pretty but I must wait to see how many actually flower and how they survive. ( The drizzle is coming down in stair rods again to make my garden boggy).

Growing and Propagating Tips

• Sow seed in spring and grow on the bulblet.
• Offsets from bulbs may be grown on and used to propagate more stock.
• Grow on in rich, moist but free draining soil.
• Shelter from strong wind and avoid full sun

Zephyranthes

• The AGS seed distribution 2011 has provided me with an opportunity to grow this species from scratch.
• I have acquires seed packets of Aquarius, atamasca, candida, citrina, fosteri, primulina and reginae.
• I will report back on how I am fairing in due course. (October 2011 not too well as yet.)

Update May 2011
Germination of my Zephyranthes was reasonable with one or two of each variety now looking like thin grass witha miniature bulb attached.
They seem delicate for a by the wallop gardener like me.

Crevice gardens are all the rage at the moment. The careful alignment of rocks can create some interesting locations for alpine and rockery plants. They are also very good for helping wild life to thrive.
See pictures of the Alpine Garden society rock supplier.

Other crevices can arise naturally or be created in the environment. These very high retaining walls are on a roadside but have been left like a dry stone wall. Rubble and soil are piled inside the stone which has been cut and faced. Between the stone a variety of plants are colonising the area.

You can create your own dry stone wall or crevice garden from a stone and a bank of soil.

Features of a Dry Stone Wall.

• Water runs freely through the retaining wall and is not trapped on the leaves of plants that are susceptible to rot.
• The soil is often poor in nutrients and is attractive to plants that thrive on those conditions.
• Moss and lichen will colonise the damp shaded places but in the full sun other plant variety will grow.
• Parts of the wall will be hot and dry so the plant selection should bear these conditions in mind.
• Insects and birds can use dry stone wall for food and shelter. Leave some uncut grass at the foot of the wall
• Height is not crucial but the wall needs to be at least a foot thick.
• Local rocks are best and will dictate the ph of the conditions.

Showstoppers for Nooks and Cranies.
From Canadian Gardening Magazine

• Rock jasmine (Androsace sarmentosa) A popular Himalayan species with grey, woolly rosettes that spreads slowly to hang over rocks; covered with carmine flowers in May.
• Woodruff (Asperula gussonii) Mounds of dense, silver-frosted, dark green leaves; stemless pink flowers in late spring or early summer.
• ‘Dickson’s Gold’ campanula (C. garganica ‘Dickson’s Gold’) Outstanding for its bright gold foliage, it also has light blue, star-shape flowers in summer.
• Rock stork’s bill or heron’s bill (Erodium petraeum spp. crispum) Although delicate in appearance with its lacy foliage, this erodium prefers full sun, wind and rocks. Flowers are white with dark purple veins; blooms non-stop from June to October.
• Siskiyou bitterroot or siskiyou lewisia (Lewisia cotyledon) Wonderful, succulent rosettes with a long succession of shades of pink to red-orange in late spring to early summer.
• Linum hirsutum This new flax has woody stems clothed in soft, hairy leaves. Large amethyst flowers are produced from July until frost.
• ‘Airemist’ primula (Primula allionii ‘Airemist’) A new alpine primula that has compact, delicate-toothed leaves with large, stemless flowers of purest white in early spring.
• Veronica bombycina A mat-forming, stunning plant with tiny, silver-felted leaves; covered with pure blue flowers in May.

Plant selection from Wild about Gardens

• Erysimum cheiri (Wallflower)
• Centranthus ruber (Red valerian)
• Aubrieta
• Arabis alpina subsp. caucasica (Rock cress)
• Aurinia saxitalis (Gold dust)
• Campanula carpatica
• Cymbalaria muralis (Ivy-leaved toadflax)

For a bit of fun read Copper Beech Hedges
Green Garden Habitats

Echeveria can drive you up the wall. High on a rock face these plants cling to the rock with little support from their roots. On Maderia the ground was former volcanic rock and seemed porous.

• Echeveria are drought-resistant, although they do better with deep watering.
• Most will tolerate shade and some frost, although hybrid species tend to be less tolerant.
• Foliage is arranged in a rosette in a variety of shapes and colors.
• Flowers will appear on the top of stalks that grow from between the leaves.
• Suitable for crevise gardens or a rockery.

Other Rosette Forming Succulents

• Jovibarba heuffelii
• Sempervivum
• Rosularia
• Echevaria
• Graptopetalum
• Graptoveria

Read about Growing Echeveria and check out Australian site  The Succulent Garden

A variety of Scilla

Scilla is a genus of about 50 bulb-forming perennial herbs in the hyacinth family native to woodlands, subalpine meadows, and seashores throughout Europe and Asia. Their flowers are usually blue, but white, pink, and purple types are known; most flower in early spring, but a few are autumn-flowering.

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Narcissus Bulbocodium var. Nivalis.
Comes from Portugal, where often found in damp peaty soil. Also does well grown here in pots. Can also be naturalised in grass.

Related

Early Narcissus in pots