Are forget-me-nots invasive or native?
Question:
I purchased a cottage and the garden has a lot of forget me nots in the garden beds. I’ve been removing invasives aggressively and successfully but I kept the forget-me-nots thinking that they were native. They did not bloom in 2023. This year I will want to pull them out if they don’t bloom again as I do not find the foliage attractive. But if they are invasive, I’m inclined to pull them regardless and replace them with a native ground cover for shade.
Are they invasive or native?
Answer:
Kudos to you for doing your part to conserve and nourish our native plant life here in Maine. As you probably know, native plants have evolved to live here in harmony with our environmental conditions and they support large populations of native insects, birds, and mammals, as well.
The short answer to your question is that none of the forget-me-nots are considered legally invasive, as you can see on the Maine DCAF’s Horticulture Program “Do Not Sell List.” The Water forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpoides) is on their “Advisory List,” meaning it’s a plant of concern that doesn’t quite meet the statutory guidelines.
However, this doesn’t mean what you have is native–problematic plants that don’t meet legal definitions and introduced plants that behave themselves alongside our natives are also out there. Forget-me-nots (Myosotis spp) are actually represented by 7 species in New England, as you can see on the Myosotis genus page of the Native Plant Trust. The smaller forget-me-not (Myosotis laxa) and spring forget-me-not (Myosotis verna) are natives to Maine, while the rest are not. But you probably have woodland forget-me-not (M. sylvatica), which is widespread and can be aggressively weedy, legal definitions aside. I’m hoping you’ll be able to identify your species from the above pages (they have good descriptions, nice photos, and a dichotomous key), but if you need help determining what you have, you can send us photos of the foliage, flower, and overall habit of the plant for identification once the growing season moves far enough along.
Forget-me-nots are not long lived (they can be annual, biennal, or short lived perennials), but they are impressive seeders. If the one you’re wrestling with didn’t flower last year, this may be a good time to try to eradicate it–the seed bank might be lower than normal in your garden soil. You’d want to physically remove what you can, taking as much care as possible to get roots and rhizomes (horizontal underground stems) out. If you’re diligent about removing any that pop up before they flower, you should be able to get on top of things pretty fast. If things aren’t better in a season or two, try smothering the area with layers of newspaper, cardboard, old carpet–anything thick enough to prevent any leftover seeds from sprouting. In the soil, they’re only viable for year or two and after that you should be clear.
The Wild Seed Project has a nice list and discussion of natives groundcovers here, which you should find helpful if you decide to replace the forget-me-nots with a native.
Happy gardening.