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There are many unpretentious flowering plants in the world that, until recently, were not at all known to flower growers. Among them, one can name a guest from the North American continent – a nemophila. This flower, of course, does not pretend to compete with gladioli, lilies and roses, because it is just an annual. And even against the background of the popular bright beauties of letniki, like marigolds, snapdragons, annual phloxes or petunias, the nemophila looks inconspicuous. But she has a bunch of other advantages, and one of the main ones is cold resistance and even frost resistance. This allows you to freely engage in the cultivation of nemophila from seeds, even in those regions of Our Country that are famous for long harsh winters and short cool summers. In addition, the nemophila has a discreet, but very attractive appearance; it is not for nothing that it was nicknamed the “American forget-me-not” for some resemblance to this charming spring flower.
Thus, already from the name, the tendency of nemophila to grow in semi-shady places is obvious. This is not surprising, because in nature these flowers grow in carpets on the wet slopes of the mountains of California and Oregano under the canopy of rare trees.
The article will describe in detail both the process of growing nemophila from seeds, and the features of caring for a flower and provide photos of its various varieties.
Description of the plant
The genus Nemophila belongs to the Borage family. There are only about 11 species in it, and today about 100 varieties of this cute flower are known.
- Nemophila is an annual herbaceous plant reaching a height of no more than 25-30 cm.
- Fleshy brittle stems branch well, often spread along the ground, forming loose carpets and rise in places.
- The leaves are pubescent, pinnately lobed, they look decorative in themselves.
- Nemophila flowers are quite large for such a short plant, in diameter they can reach from 3 to 5 cm.
- The shape of the flowers is in the form of a wide open bell, they do not grow in inflorescences, but singly, on rather long peduncles from the axils of the leaves.
- A pronounced aroma in nemophila flowers is not observed.
- The corolla can be white, blue, blue or purple, often spotted.
- The fruits are hairy capsules of ovoid-spherical shape, 3-6 mm in size.
- Nemophila seeds are medium-small in size, there are about 400 pieces in one gram. They are egg-shaped, slightly wrinkled, with a small appendage at the end.
Most popular varieties
In culture, mainly two species are known: nemophila Mentzis and nemophila spotted.
In the video below, you can see all the various photos of various Nemophila varieties.
Nemophilus of Mencis known in culture since 1833. Although it grows in abundance in the wild of the mountains of California, it is popular as a garden groundcover annual throughout America. The Americans gave her the cute name “baby blue eyes” (baby blue eyes). In the wild, its height does not exceed 15 cm. Cultivars may be slightly taller and have larger flowers. In Europe, it is known not so long ago.
There are many garden forms of nemophila Mentzis:
- Coelestis is one of the most popular and charming nemophila varieties with sky blue petals and a white heart.
- Atomaria or Snustorm – the color of the flowers is pure white, but the petals are dotted with tiny black dots.
- Oculata – with dark or purple spots at the base of the petals and a white edging.
- Discoidalis or Penny Black is also a very popular variety with velvety deep purple almost black flowers with a white border.
- There are varieties of nemophila with both pure white and pure blue petals without strokes and spots.
Nemophila spotted got its name for the purple spots symmetrically located on the edges of the petals. The coloring of the flowers also gave rise to the local name for the plant, five spots. It lives in the wild mainly on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the USA in fir and pine forests and pastures.
As a garden flowering culture, spotted nemophila became known a little later, since 1848.
Popular varieties:
- Barbara – with pronounced blue strokes on a white background of petals.
- Ladybug – almost white petals with barely noticeable strokes.
Combination with other flowers and use in the garden
Nemophila will blend wonderfully in the garden with many perennial or annual undersized plants.
Note that nemophila is often confused with another charming, low herbaceous annual from North America, Limnantes. This flower, like the nemophila, has not yet become widespread in Our Country, and even belongs to a completely different family. Nevertheless, the common origin and similar growing conditions somewhat related them. In addition, their flower shape is also similar. But the coloring of the limnantes is completely different – it is lemon-white in color.
But in the garden, these two plants will blend well with each other, creating contrasting compositions in flower beds or flowering lawns.
Nemophila will also look good in flowerbeds or borders along with petunias, lobelia, and low escholcia.
Theoretically, it can also be placed in joint plantings with luxurious tall flowers, such as roses, gladioli, dahlias and others, but in this case, the nemophila will look better along the very edge of the plantings, edging them.
Due to its unpretentious disposition, nemophila can be used everywhere in the garden. Given that very few annuals tolerate shady conditions, it can be planted in those conditions where other flowers cannot grow at all. If pine trees grow on your site, then nemophila will help create a beautiful flowering clearing under them.
Very often it is used for planting along paths or along the borders of a lawn area. If you plant varieties of nemophiles of different shades in this way, you can create a composition that resembles sea waves.
Nemophila seems to be specially designed for planting on rockeries and near artificial reservoirs.
And, of course, the plant can decorate a variety of hanging baskets and vertical compositions, forming real waterfalls of greenery with numerous flowers. They will look especially impressive in shady inner courtyards, where few flowers will agree to bloom profusely.
Cultivation from seeds
Nemophila, like many annuals, is propagated exclusively by seeds. Given its ability to tolerate light frosts, its seeds can be sown directly outdoors as early as April, depending on weather and climate conditions in your area. For the conditions of central Our Country, the dates at the end of April-beginning of May are more suitable, because the earth should completely thaw by this moment. Seedlings appear on average 10-15 days after sowing, seed germination is good, reaching 90%. Plants bloom approximately 1,5-2 months after germination.
Nemophila seeds are sown in grooves or holes to a depth of 3 to 5 cm, depending on the composition of the soil. On light sandy soils, it can be sown even 5 cm, and on heavy loams – no deeper than 3 cm. After emergence, the plants are thinned out so that about 10-15 cm remain between them. This distance is enough for the plants to form a continuous flowering carpet .
Nemophila plants bloom profusely, but relatively briefly, about two months. In order to prolong flowering, you can either sow the seeds every 2-4 weeks, or make a formative pruning of the bushes around the middle of summer, which stimulates branching and increases the number of buds that will bloom closer to autumn.
By the way, if you want the nemophila to bloom at the end of summer – autumn, you can sow the seeds in the chosen place in June.
But if you want to see a blooming nemophila as early as possible, then you can try to grow it from seedlings. Only it should be taken into account that the plant hardly tolerates any transplant, so it is advisable to sow it immediately in separate pots in several pieces. And subsequently transplanted to a permanent place of growth, trying to minimally injure the root system of the flower.
It is best to grow nemophila seedlings in a greenhouse, greenhouse or on a balcony. The room may be too hot for her and will need abundant regular watering.
But when sowing nemophila seeds for seedlings in March, you can see its flowering by the beginning of summer. You can also plant seedlings in the ground at the earliest possible time – as soon as the earth warms up and thaws.
By the way, nemophila reproduces well by self-sowing. It is enough to plant one bush and next summer a whole clearing of white and blue color can grow in this place. The seeds of this flower can be sown before winter.
Features of care
After sowing, the most important thing is to keep the soil moist. In general, for all the unpretentiousness of the nemophila, only one thing can destroy it – insufficient watering. With insufficient watering, especially in hot weather, the plants first cease to bloom, and in severe drought they may die. Therefore, in order to preserve moisture in the soil, it is recommended that a week or two after the emergence of shoots, carefully mulch the soil around the nemophila sprouts with a layer of several centimeters with any organic material. Mulch will play another important role – it will protect the soil near the roots of plants from overheating. After all, nemophila also reacts sharply negatively to overheating of the soil, which, of course, affects flowering. It is for this reason that in the southern arid regions this flower does not always feel good. True, it should be noted that plants will also not be able to grow in a swamp, since their roots may rot.
The composition of the soil for growing nemophila does not matter, it can adapt to any type of soil. The main thing is that they are well-drained.
On rich soils, the flower does not need top dressing at all. If you grow a plant in containers, hanging pots or on depleted soils, then for the entire growing season you need to carry out at least three top dressings – a month after germination, during budding and during flowering.
Pests and diseases usually bypass the nemophila. Apparently, they have not yet had time to get used to the peculiar taste and appearance of the American guest.
Nemophila is a very interesting and unpretentious flower of truly universal use. You can grow it effortlessly almost anywhere in your yard. She only needs regular watering, without which, in principle, no plant can survive.
