Caucasus forget-me-not, Brunnera macrophylla – care

The Caucasus forget-me-not needs a light, semi-shady location, as it can often be found under trees in the wild. But even a sunny spot doesn’t bother him. The Brunnera macrophylla is the ideal plant in every garden bed and can beautify sunny front gardens as well as a garden bed under a tree that is partially shaded. Ideally, three to five plants are always put together, this is how they come into their own. Above all, however, the planting distance must be considered here so that the wild perennial has enough space on all sides. Brunnera macrophylla can also be cultivated at the following locations:

• wood edge
• light wood
• ground cover
• Container plant for balcony or terrace
• bee pasture
• discount plant
• Border of a garden pond or a landscaped stream
• natural garden
• Japangarten

Substrat & Boden

Above all, the Caucasus forget-me-not needs moist soil. If it is offered this, it will thrive and bloom almost by itself. Since the perennial is usually found under or near wood in nature, it also requires humus-rich soil that should have the following additional properties:

• loamy to sandy
• nutritious
• wet
• frisch
• Mix soil with compost before planting

watering & fertilizing

Since Brunnera macrophylla prefers moist soil, it must be watered regularly. This is especially important on hot summer days. But the watering must be done very carefully, because watering water on the leaves is often not tolerated by the plant, especially when the sun is shining. Therefore, it makes sense to water in the early morning or late evening hours, especially in the hot season. Shortly before budding until the end of flowering, the plant should be fertilized regularly. You can use long-term fertilizer for this. But liquid fertilizer for perennials from the trade is also recommended and should be used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. However, it is important to ensure that the root ball has not dried out when the fertilizer is added. Because then burns can occur.

plant

Once the right location has been chosen, you can plant the Caucasus forget-me-not. To do this, dig a sufficiently large hole and mix in the removed soil with compost. If several plants are used at the same time, you should ensure a planting distance of about 40 centimeters on all sides. Then proceed as follows:

• create drainage to prevent waterlogging
• put stones or gravel on the bottom of the planting hole
• insert plant
• fill in prepared soil
• press and pour well
• planting should ideally take place before flowering in spring

Cultivation in the bucket

The Caucasus forget-me-not can also be cultivated in a bucket if there is no garden bed. It beautifies the terrace or balcony. Normal potting soil from the trade is mixed with sand for the soil. Otherwise, you should consider the following when planting:

• Lay drainage out of rocks or potsherds over the drain hole
• Spread plant fleece over it
• add prepared soil and leave a hole in the middle
• Several plants can also find a place in a large pot
• Insert perennials and fill in the remaining soil
• Press the soil down lightly and water well
• repot regularly
• you can use the time for the division for this
• Renew the soil completely if the same pot is used again

To cut

Caucasus forget-me-nots are perennials that should be pruned in fall before winter. Since the upper parts of the plant above ground do not tolerate frost and die off in cold weather, it makes sense to cut the entire plant in autumn so that only the roots remain in the ground. These are frost hardy and in this way the Brunnera macrophylla can sprout again in spring on the first warm days.

sowing

If you don’t cut back your Caucasus forget-me-not after flowering, you have to expect it to sow unhindered in the garden. Because the seeds germinate well if they fall on the right soil. And that is usually present near the mother plant. But the targeted sowing by the hobby gardener in seed pots is also possible. The seeds can be removed from the flowers for this purpose. These are placed in a mixture of sand and clay and placed in a bright, warm place. Above all, you should make sure that you always keep the soil moist. When the first seedlings appear, you should prick them out if there were several seeds in a seed pot. After the winter, the new plants that have grown in this way can be transplanted to their chosen location.

multiply

Like all perennials, the Caucasus forget-me-not can be propagated simply by dividing. To do this, the plant must be carefully removed from the soil. The division should proceed as follows:

• the ideal time is in autumn after flowering
• this gives the spring flowering perennial enough time to regenerate
• Prick all over the perennial with a spade or fork
• Move back and forth to loosen the bale from the ground
• remove carefully
• with a sharp, previously disinfected knife
• each section should be about the size of a fist
• the smaller a section is, the stronger the plant will be
• each section should have two shoot buds
• remove dried and diseased roots
• Also remove bald spots in the middle
• Replant the perennials gained through division

hibernate

The perennial is hardy and nothing else needs to be considered apart from cutting for overwintering. The roots remaining in the ground survive a winter without protection. If you still want to be on the safe side, cover the planting sites with brushwood. However, this must be removed early on so that the plant can sprout again in early spring on the first warm days.

Care mistakes, diseases or pests

Pests are mostly unknown on the rough leaves of the plant and the Caucasus forget-me-not is usually pest-free. Snails don’t like the rough surface of the leaves either, and caterpillars hardly attack it either. A care mistake that can be made with this graceful perennial is that the leaves receive water from above, causing unsightly stains and sun burns. Other maintenance errors are the following:

• too little watering, the plant can dry up
• too little fertilizer, the plant flowers little or not at all

Conclusion
The Caucasus forget-me-not is an easy-care, hardy perennial that provides beautiful, flowering eye-catchers in the garden in spring. Therefore, Brunnera macrophylla are also indispensable in many local gardens. Even if the plant needs a lot of water, especially in summer, it does not require much care and is therefore also a suitable perennial for hobby gardeners with little time. In addition, it can be used in many places in the garden, such as a ground cover, under or next to trees and shrubs or as a border around a garden pond or stream. Everywhere she stands out with her small blue or white flowers and the large, showy leaves.