MYOSOTIS 



FOBGET-ME-NOT-OBDEB 



MYOSOTIS 677 



shoots. The variety rubra is a charming 

 plant with beautiful soft pink blossoms. 



Culture and Propagation. — The 

 Virginian Cowslip is best grown in 

 sheltered nooks in moist, sandy, peaty, 

 and well- drained soil, in lower parts of 

 the rook garden, the edges of borders &o. 

 Increased by division in autumn, and by 

 seeds sown as soon as ripe. 



MYOSOTIS (Poeget-mb-not). — A 

 genus of annual or perennial hairy or 

 rarely smooth herbs, with alternate 

 leaves. Flowers in crosier-like cymes or 

 racemes, with or without bracts, blue, 

 rosy, or white. Calyx shortly or deeply 

 . 5-cleft. Corolla tube short, closed at the 

 throat more or less with 5 notched scales, 

 or naked ; lobes 5. Stamens 5, enclosed 

 or protruding. Nutlets 4, distinct, ovoid. 



Culture and Propagation. — More 

 than 40 species of Porget-me-nots have 

 been described by various authors, but 

 many of them are confused with one 

 another. The kinds described below are 

 among the best for garden purposes. 

 They are easily grown in moist rich soil 

 and rather shady places, and may be 

 increased by seeds sown in March and 

 AprO on a warm border. The seeds may 

 also be sown as soon as ripe in prepared 

 spots, and the seedlings afterwards pricked 

 out into their flowering quarters not later 

 than the end of September or middle of 

 October, so that they may secure a good 

 hold of the soil before winter sets in. 

 Plants obtained in this way flower freely 

 in spring and make fine bushy clumps. 

 The perennial kinds may also be multi- 

 plied by dividing the tufts in early spring, 

 or cuttings may be inserted in moist sandy 

 soil, under a handlight or cold frame 

 during the summer in shaded spots. 



M. alpestris {M. rupicola). — A pretty 

 British alpine, 2-3 in. high, closely 

 related to M. sylvaUoa. Leaves dark 

 green, hairy, sessile, oblong lance-shaped, 

 I5-2 in. long, in dense tufts. Flowers i£i 

 early summer, ^ in. across, bright blue, 

 with a smaU. yellowish eye, fragrant 

 towards evening. The variety elegamtis- 

 sima is a pretty dwarf free-flowering 

 plant with white, rose; and blue flowers. 

 There are other dwarf forms with white 

 and rosy flowers, and one with yellowish 

 leaves and deep blue flowers. 



Striata and Stricta ccelestina are 

 unique varieties, the branches of which 

 grow upright, forming a regular pillar or 



column, studded with sky-blue flowers. 

 Useful for borders or pot culture. Other 

 good varieties are Victoria ani Distinction, 

 the latter 5-7 in. high, having a rounded, 

 bushy habit and bright sky-blue flowers 

 which appear 8-10 weeks after the seeds 

 have been sown. As a pot plant it will 

 flower in greenhouses during the winter 

 from autumn-sown seeds. 



Culture and Propagation. — May be 

 grown in the rockery, the edges of the 

 flower border, in sandy moist soil, in 

 partially shaded places. The typical 

 plant grows on moist rocks in the north 

 of England, at elevations of 2400-4000 

 ft 



M. azorica. — A charming perennial 

 6-10 in. high, native of the Azores. 

 Leaves hairy, upper ones bluntly oblong, 

 lower ones oblong spoon-shaped. Flowers 

 in summer, about J in. across, at first rich 

 purple, afterwards a bright indigo-blue, 

 and remarkable for the absence of a 

 differently coloured ' eye ' in the centre. 

 The variety alba has white flowers ; and 

 Imperatrice EUzabeth is a seedling 

 variation forming a little bush about 6 in. 

 high, and studded with bluish-purple 

 flowers. 



Culture a/nd Propagation. — M. 

 azorica is somewhat tender and requires 

 to be grown in warm sheltered parts of 

 the rockery, in light, rich, sandy soil. It 

 may be increased from seeds or by cut- 

 tings. The variety Imperatrice Elizabeth 

 is more sturdy, and makes a fine pot-plant 

 or an ornament for shady nooks in the 

 rookery. 



M. dissitiflora. — A beautiful perennial 

 6-12 in. high, native of the Swiss Alps. 

 Leaves oblong lance-shaped, tapering. 

 Flowers very early in spring, lasting till 

 summer, deep sky-blue, ^ in. or more 

 across, in great profusion. This species 

 is closely related to M. sylvatica but may 

 be distinguished readily by its stalked 

 nutlets, those of M. sylvatica being with- 

 out stalks. It also flowers much earlier, 

 and looks well in broad masses in the 

 rockery or the front of borders, shrub- 

 beries, copses &c. In favourable spots 

 it seeds freely, but may also be increased 

 by division and cuttings. 



There are several varieties, among 

 which are alba with pure white flowers ; 

 grandnflora with very large flowers like 

 the type, produced in great profusion in 

 February ; perfeota, a very large and 



