Creeping forget-me-not
Omphalodes verna · Boraginaceae
Sprays of vivid blue, white-eyed flowers, larger than a forget-me-not's, over a carpet of pointed, heart-shaped leaves in early spring.
- Size
- 6 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Mid April to mid May
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around creeping forget-me-not
The planner designed this bed around creeping forget-me-not when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why creeping forget-me-not stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Creeping forget-me-not × 13, blue
- 2 Wherry's foamflower × 3, white
- 3 Astilbe 'Purple Candles' × 3, purple
- 4 Korean feather reed grass × 1, pink
- 5 Rose turtlehead × 5, pink
- 6 Korean rock fern × 8, dark green leaves
- 7 Double snowdrop × 12, white
- 8 Snowdrop × 7, white
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are spires, plumes and bells. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only blue.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 6 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 79% of the edge.
- 13 plants in 3 runs (5, 5 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From mid April to mid May.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 7 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Creeping forget-me-not repeats along the bed to tie it together. A cool scheme: blue, purple, pink and white.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where creeping forget-me-not goes in a border
At 6 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
Marie Antoinette's favourite flower, they say. It spreads by runners into a neat carpet under shrubs and trees, and needs cool, leafy soil.
- Blue carpet under shrubs in spring
- Woodland groundcover
- Planting with daffodils
What to plant with creeping forget-me-not
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lenten rose: in flower together for five weeks, from mid April; bold leaves against its medium ones; tall enough (18 in) to stand behind it.
- Siberian bugloss: in flower together for four weeks, from late April; bold leaves against its medium ones; tall enough (16 in) to stand behind it.
- Lady fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about creeping forget-me-not
Does creeping forget-me-not need sun or shade?
Creeping forget-me-not grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does creeping forget-me-not grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does creeping forget-me-not flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid April to mid May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Mid April to mid May |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Early April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Late March to early May |
| Zone 8 | Late March to late April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should creeping forget-me-not be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 in (15 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many creeping forget-me-not plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used 13 in three groups.
Is there a native plant like creeping forget-me-not?
Creeping forget-me-not is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Creeping woodland phlox: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 4 in narrower, wants average soil.
- Green-and-gold: the same job in a bed; 4 in narrower, flowers late April to mid June.
- Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet': the same job in a bed; 4 in narrower, flowers early May to late May.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after creeping forget-me-not?
Creeping forget-me-not is over by mid May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Sweet woodruff: from early May to early June, 8 in tall.
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Columbine: from early May to mid June, 24 in tall.
What does creeping forget-me-not look like in winter?
Creeping forget-me-not holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 6 in (15 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid April to mid May; airy sprays; blue
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Boraginaceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.