The Woodland Forget-Me-Not is a spring flowering, herbaceous perennial, often grown as an annual, in the Boraginaceae (Borage) family. It typically grows to a foot high with small blue flowers with yellow or white eyes densely blooming in spring and mid-summer. It is native to Europe and Asia, but has naturalized in many parts of North America. The genus name comes from the classical Greek name myosotis from mus meaning mouse and ous or otos meaning ear applied to plants with short pointed leaves. The species name means growing in the woods or forest-loving. Woodland Forget-Me-Not does well in organically rich, consistently moist, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade; although the plants do appreciate some afternoon shade in hot summer climates. It is a wildflower that will adapt to garden soil containing loam or clay-loam if it is kept sufficiently moist. Shallow standing water is tolerated. It is a short-lived perennial that is best grown as an annual. However, it can also be grown as a biennial by planting seed in the ground in mid-summer for bloom the following year. To grow as an annual, start from seed indoors about 8 to 10 weeks before the last spring frost date for bloom the same year. Regardless of method, plants will persist in the garden for many years by freely and sometimes aggressively self-seeding. You can deadhead immediately to encourage flowers and prevent excessively seeding. Woodland Forget-Me-Not is listed as a noxious weed in one or more Midwestern states. The base of the plant's stem is often creeping or stolon-like and it can take root and produce clonal offsets. This often results in a colony of plants. This can be useful as a ground cover over a damp site. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect problems. Susceptible to mildew and rust.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Wet
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 0 ft. 10 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Dense; Erect; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Broadleaf Evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Linear; Oblong
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Rough
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Oblong-linear to oblong-lanceolate, hairy, green leaves (to 1 to 3 inches long).
Flower color
Blue; Pink; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Cyme
Flower shape
Cup; Radial; Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Blue blossoms with yellow or white eyes in April and May. The small, 5-lobed, flowers are 3/8 of an inch in diameter in dense cymes. In addition to spring blossoms, some sporadic and intermittent blooms appear in mid-summer.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit type
Schizocarp
Fruit detail
Fruit is dry, but does not split open.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Madeira and Temperate Eurasia
Distribution
Introduced to parts of Canada, Northern United States, South Africa, Britain and Belgium.
Wildlife value
Attracts small butterflies and dance flies that feed on the nectar.