The Forget me Nots that I have growing (Chinese) stick to everything they touch. If I get anywhere near them I find the seeds attached to my clothing and my poor cat gets them in his fur. They turn brown and can just be picked off the stem. Maybe yours have already fallen off? They are very good reseeders. You may have another type of Forget me Not, but this is what the Chinese type do.

Hi Estelle, your forget-me-nots sound like mine. I have never harvested the seeds but want to be able to offer some for trade this year as well. In previous years whenever I have wanted them in a different place I have just cut stems of them when they reach the condition you have described and scattered them in the new place. This works wonderfully for me. I cut some stems and put them in a brown paper bag recently hoping that the seeds would fall out. So far this hasn't happened. I hope someone with experience will tell us how to harvest them.
Bonny

Don't know if we have the same kind of forget-me-nots or not, but I let mine set seed... when the plants begin to brown I go out with a stack of big sheets of newspaper (or something flat and flexible to hold the seeds...), I rip out the plants with my hands and lay the whole thing on the newspaper sheets, with all the plants layed in the same direction. Once I've got a pile of stems/dried flowerheads on there, I lift them together, upside down, and give a little shake. Tons of little shiny black seeds will drop down, with the chaff, onto the newspapers. Toss the plants in the compost, carelessly allowing seeds to fall everywhere, then lift the newspaper carefully with a slight fold down the middle so you can pour the seeds out into your container. I'm taking out my plants this weekend (started last night), but I'm not bothering to save the seeds.

Hope that helps!

I love how carefree these self-sow! :)

I'm pretty sure the forget-me-nots we have here are Myosotis Sylvatica and they self-seed so freely that saving the seeds is hardly necessary. In fact, I'm already getting next year's supply of plants; they're everywhere but easy to pull out if inconvenient. Some years I get pink ones and white ones along with the blue and I will cut some of those stalks and toss them where I'd like them to settle in. They're biennials, but once established you'll always have blooming plants.

Thanks all! I couldn't believe how much bigger they were this year over last. It's really amazing. That's a good idea - I'll take some stalks and plant them in a spot that I'm trying to fill.

I will try to remember that for next year. i think mine are defunct this year. I need to put on my want list for next year.Is it too late to sow the seeds this year I wonder? Sue

Hi Sue,
I bought a pkg of pink forget me not seeds at wallyworld and planted them in flats on the 1st of June...first sign of germination was the 12th and they are doing just fine. The seeds that naturally fall and germinate this year are the plants that bloom next year so I'm pretty sure you can sow them now. I hope to gather some to share in the near future. I have tons of plants and they are almost done blooming.
Bonny

Sue - last year I planted forget me not seeds in very early spring and only got a few small leaves. But this year they came back a little larger with blooms. I did have trouble getting the seeds to germinate and only got one or two plants. I had much better luck when I bought small plants last year in season. Maybe you can put the seeds in the fridge for a few weeks, then plant them inside where it's not really hot. Then move them outside in fall.

My forget me nots are almost done, they had 1-2 flowers left at the tip. I cut a bunch to use the flowers in potpourri . But if you shake the stems a little these little seeds will fall out. But since I just picked them, I'm going to let the stems dry for a bit, before trying to shake out more seeds. Hiram, Maine