Forget-me-nots thrive best outdoors. If you don't have a garden, you can also grow the spring bloomers in a pot on the balcony or terrace. However, the plants need more care if you want to keep them for several years. How to care for forget-me-nots in the pot.
How do you care for forget-me-nots in a pot?
To care for forget-me-nots in pots, you need a pot or bucket with good drainage, nutritious, slightly acidic substrate such as rhododendron soil, regular watering and a partially shaded location. Cut the plant back after flowering and fertilize a maximum of twice.
Pot, balcony box or bucket? The right planter
If you want the forget-me-not to provide color on the balcony only during the flowering period, it is enough if you plant it in balcony boxes. A planting distance of 15 centimeters should be maintained. The box must have good drainage.
To care for forget-me-nots as a perennial, you need a larger pot or container in which only one plant is placed. A large drainage hole is a prerequisite to prevent waterlogging.
What should the plant substrate be like?
Forget-me-nots like nutritious and slightly acidic soil. Rhododendron soil (€20.00 on Amazon) is therefore ideal as planting soil. If necessary, you can also use normal garden soil with a little sand.
How to care for forget-me-nots in the pot
- Water regularly
- cut back after flowering
- do not fertilize more than twice
- repot in fall or spring
The earth must not dry out completely. Always water when the top layer of soil has dried out.
Provide a shady or semi-shady location where the humidity is not too high. If the humidity is too high, the forget-me-not will suffer from gray mold or powdery mildew and must then be disposed of.
Pruning after flowering serves to prevent disease. An extended flowering period or a second flowering cannot be achieved.
Overwintering forget-me-nots in the bucket
Forget-me-nots are hardy outdoors. It must be kept frost-free in the bucket over the winter. Place the pot on Styrofoam or wood and cover it with bubble wrap. Place it in a sheltered corner on the balcony or terrace.
Tip
In spring baskets you will often find a pot of forget-me-nots. The flowers only last a short time in the room and then have to be thrown away. If you have the opportunity, plant the forget-me-not straight away in the garden or in a sufficiently large pot.
