Wondering the same myself! I have two planted in April that have grown large "base" shrubbery/leaves but no blooms yet. They seem very healthy. I was planning to give them some fish emulsion this weekend to see if that perked it up wrt those beautiful blue blooms. I'll keep you posted!

Somehow, they never lasted here. I loved their look in photos, but it never happened here.

I had 2. Mine didn't look good at all. The foliage was ratty looking and I don't think I got blooms the first year, and couldn't stand the look of the foliage. One died and I pulled the other one out. No more for me! I hope yours work for you. Sometimes the things that I love don't work for others and vice versa.

I’m curious about OT. What does it mean? I thought it was ‘Off Thread’?

off topic, not really about roses. at least that's what i think it means

False forget me not or anchusa? Diane

floral, part of the confusion of Houzz permitting posting the same post on multiple forums.

OK. I meant to say off topic, rather than off thread. But since it’s on Perennials and Cottage Gardens I didn’t see how it applied. Didn't spot that it was on Roses too.

Anchusa azurea is usually short lived unless it has optimal conditions ie a fast draining sunny position. It also self sows. The common name would usually be Italian Bugloss rather than Alkanet. Alkanet is more often applied to Pentaglottis sempervirens, a weedy member of the Boraginaceae with irritant bristly foliage. But common names are a minefield so stick to the Latin just to be sure of what you’re getting.

Diane‘s picture shows Cynoglossum amabile aka Chinese Forget-me-not.

I grew one plant of it from seed. It was very pretty last year and came back this year. The foliage doesn't bug me. It's supposed to reseed I think but it hasn't. We had a very wet winter and spring and it still did ok...I think it's supposed to dislike wet feet.

I have it here in Michigan. In my clay soil/mostly full sun bed, it lasted two glorious years, and self-sowed a bit, but the seedlings didn't last through our last warm (read: lots of wet rain and temp. swings).

Up against the house in almost pure sand and full hot sun it has lived for four years and counting.

In both places, it is a tall (four feet +) rangy plant with beautiful blue flowers. The wind knocks it over, but it is also gorgeous draped over other plants (or a rose in bloom!). It blooms on and off all summer; the main flush is in June. Don't put it where you'll focus on the leaves -- behind lilies or roses is a good spot if in very well-drained soil.

That is a gorgeous color on your Lodden Royalist, Marlorena. I doubt it's available around here, unfortunately. I love its very British name.

UK, thank you. I was pretty sure it was some kind of forget me not. I did order seeds for anchusa several years back, and ended up with a bit of Chinese Forget Me Not, which has since died out. What I prefer is Siberian Bugloss, aka Brunnera. It's blue blooms persist for at least six weeks in spring. My plants came from a start courtesy of an antique stand of these. Mine have grown here for 15 years, slowly spreading. I've given away a lot of it for others' gardens, and transplanted it to other flower beds in my garden. Diane

I tried it at least three times. Once from seed, the other times from nice stocky plants. It became a huge plant with far fewer flowers than I was hoping, and the plant soon became a ratty mess after it bloomed. It does NOT like Tennessee heat and humidity. None of them survived their first winter here, either. Admittedly, I garden on clay, although it is as well-drained as clay can be on a thirty degree slope, lol.

I think like so many plants I dream of (here's looking at you, delphiniums) it's not meant to be unless I move to Britain or Vancouver (or possibly Annie's seaside neighborhood) :P

John

John -- I've given up on delphiniums in the ground -- but they grow well for me in big pots that I tuck into corners. So now I can enjoy them! p.s. would love to know how your ID/nickname came about... !

@DDinSB (Z10b Coastal CA), Deborah, I've even tried delphs in pots. Nice big pots. If I give them enough shade that they don't fry, they mildew horribly in our humidity, lol. Oh well...

As for my screen name, I have a rather...eccentric...reputation, lol. I currently have over 50 varieties of figs, a total of seventy-plus plants, in pots as big as 30 gallons, that I schlepp in and out of the garage multiple times each Spring and Fall to avoid late/early frosts, that take up half of a two car garage. That doesn't include the eight proven totally-hardy varieties I have multiples of in-ground. It also represents a culling, down from a max of almost two hundred plants at one time.

If that isn't "fig insanity", I don't know what is, lol. But all is not lost; there might still be hope: I balance it out with over 200 varieties of roses (my screen name on other forums is "rose_insanity").

(not quite sane) John

Holy Cow! You are ... shall we say, enthusiastic about your figs and roses!!! I just planted my first two fig trees this last January from bare root. A violette de bordeaux and ... black jack? Sorry you can't grow delphs.

Thank you, thank you, thank you folks! So many helpful comments. But drat that it is a short lived plant. I just dont want to get into annuals and short lived perennials. I will just enjoy it as long as it lasts!

@kathyc_z10: thank you! I very much look forward to hearing how your AAA grows and if it makes you happy!

@Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR and @DDinSB (Z10b Coastal CA): hmm. I have a sinking feeling mine are not going to do great either...it seems like a picky plant, lets see.

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK: thank you so much for that write up. you must have aan amazing garden judging from how much is just at the tip of your tongue!

@erasmus_gw: oh I am so glad yours came back. I would love to know if you get more from reseeding, going forward.

@Diane Brakefield: thank you for those blue flowered plants. I have brunnera in mind and I will look up the chinese forget me not. looks unassuming and joyful.

You're welcome, katya, and good luck with the blues. Here is another blue one, which came from seed I tossed out: Campanula rotundifolia or Blue Bells of Scotland. Diane

@User well wow! that is so blue!!! I have heard of and seen pictures of the Loddon Royalist but did not think it is as blue as yours. I would have wanted that one. I came across it on one of my late night roamings and remembered the name as London Loyalist.🤣 You have such a richly and densely planted flower bed there, must be like being in heaven. What is the dark pink rose in the lower left corner first picture? Thank you for sharing your garden here.😊

@Sunny Michigan: thank you! My garden is on a slope. I am going to plant it up slope and hope for the best.

@fig_insanity Z7b E TN: I am in awe, in awe, of what your plant collections must look like. You must be a maven of efficiency and efficacy to keep all that together😊. Sorry that AAA did not work for you....... I have a fig question that has been bugging me I guess I will just ask it here...I have one in ground Chicago Hardy fig that I planted last summer. Its growing too well. My problem is (a) I want to keep it less that 6 feet but I forgot to do any pruning when it was dormant this spring and its getting very big. A few days ago I cut off some growing tips, right or wrong, so that it would focus on ripening the figs that are there and not keep getting bigger and setting more fruit. Is it possible to cut this plant to a smaller size? Can I do it next spring?? My second problem (b) I planted it in a spot I DO NOT want it anymore. I am redoing my garden now. Can I move it while it is dormant next spring and trim it at the same time? I would actually like to move it this Fall late September or October. Could I do that? As it is going dormant? I value any thing you might have to say. Thanks!

here it is third week of June over 8 feet tall. Now it is much bigger even with the tips cut.

Katyajini..thank you... that rose is Thomas a Becket.. a DA rose.. at its best when about 5 feet tall..

..good luck with your Anchusas !..

I like the intense blue of the anchusa but Chinese Forget-Me-Not blooms all summer here and is true blue. I grew some myosotis which bloomed a shorter time in spring. Myosotis takes more shade and wetter conditions. Both are easy from seed.

Diane, that brunnera plant is beautiful. Does it require a lot of water and does it need any shade?

I've use to grow it. It would be a short lived thing but the seedlings kept it around. For me, it would always look amazing... until a decent rain or wind storm and then just start looking ratty. One last part I didn't like was that the stems are covered a fine glass like hairs. I typically don't wear gloves in the garden so have my share of calluses... but the stems on these things was the worst for me. I had to break out the leather gloves to cut the plant back in the fall. Like stinging nettle to me.

That's a gorgeous picture, Nevermore. I have never seen a pic of it with the lighter blue edges.

Nevermore, I remember those awful sticky scratchy hairs. Still, yours was a gorgeous sight to see in this photos. My plants never achieved such looks, and died out in a season or two.

Erasmus, thank you, and yes, brunnera likes the shade, but all my flower beds get the same amount of water via our system. I have two beds half filled with brunnera, plus hardy geraniums, and peonies that all do quite well with part shade. I don't recommend full sun for brunnera. Diane

@katyajini, First of all, no, I'm not all that efficient. TIRED is what I am, lol, at least in March/April and October/November. I try to get my roses pruned just as it's time to start bringing the figs out of "garage jail". But the figs themselves determine when the transfer begins. They ALWAYS start to break dormancy before it's safe to just leave them outside. I do a lot of "ten day forecast" watching, lol.

Now, for your fig problem; for the life of me, I can't remember where you live. I KNOW I've read it on another thread, but age and lock-down are taking a toll, lol. What you can do, and when, depends on your winter temps. As a general rule, if you have winter temps below 28F, then unfortunately, you're past the limit of being able to prune or move it. Tip pruning, as long as what you're removing is still succulent and green (not turning brown and forming bark)...that's good. It actually forces the wood below to harden off, as well as pushing the figs to ripen. But if you cut into hardwood at this point, you'll induce new growth that most likely won't harden before winter. Now, if you're in a warm climate without frost, that's not so much a consideration, and you can prune in to hardwood, but I wouldn't do a severe pruning this late. For one thing, you'd be removing figs! hehe. For another, fig sap is toxic, and most people will suffer from skin irritation (think second degree burns!) if the sap gets on their skin and it's exposed to sunlight. It's not something you want to experience. A six foot fig tree is going to bleed a LOT. As for moving right now, that's a no. Figs have a VERY extensive root system (never plant one within 20' of your house foundation, or within 50' of a septic tank/field drain) that you're going to mutilate, and then you'd have to prune back the top severely to balance it out. It would probably survive (figs are even tougher than roses), but then if it did, it would be putting out fresh new growth just as winter hits. See above, lol.

As for next Spring, while dormant a fig (especially main-crop-only figs like CH) can be drastically pruned, and that would be the time to move it. Do it a few weeks BEFORE the buds begin to swell. It won't matter at that point if you lose soil from the root ball. It will never know it was moved.

As for keeping it a certain size, for a Chicago Hardy, which has almost no breba crop but a long main crop, I would prune it yearly while dormant. If you're in a warm climate, you can grow figs as trees. I have to keep mine as multi-stem shrubs (3-5 stems) to insure survival of the crown in harsh winters. Then I would tip prune every branch and limb every time they have put on five new full-size leaves (OK...I cheat a bit. Sometimes the last two or so aren't full grown, lol. But five...every five, then pinch). It drastically limits the size of the tree, vastly increases your crop, but does make more side shoots to be pruned NEXT Spring. It also forces the figs to ripen earlier, as you already know.

I hope that wasn't TMI, but in summary, you can tip prune now, but I wouldn't do a major pruning or move until late winter/spring. And if you're in California...ignore everything I just said, lol.

John

Thank you so much everyone for not only AAA but bringing in other blue flowers. I want to add a lot of blue to my garden and this was great. It is just as great getting to know a few new folks....when asking about perennials. Thank you!!

@fig_insanity Z7b E TN: Thank you so much for that guidance. I am from westchester county just outside NYC, zone 7a. I hope I get it right next spring.

I am with never more on this plant. The blooms are nice, and mine has actually lasted a number of years in well drained soil, but the stem hairs make it unappealing. It is not one I would ever plan again, and I might have shovel pruned mine, though I haven’t checked that spot for a couple of seasons.