Cynoglossum zeylanicum Mystery Rose - Ceylon hound's tongue seeds

The 'Mystery Rose' Cynoglossum is a beautiful selection of Chinese Forget-me-not with pastel pink flowers that create a haze of blooms on long stems. It is a hardy annual plant that generously flowers from mid-spring to late summer. The overall effect is ideal for creating colourful movement in flower borders, especially alongside roses and peonies. This variety is also highly sought after in floristry for adding a touch of poetry to bouquets. This plant readily self-seeds over the years where it is happy. Cynoglossum prefers moderately moist and well-drained soil. It can be planted in full sun or partial shade.

The 'Mystery Rose' Cynoglossum is a plant in the borage family, just like common borage and forget-me-nots found in our woodlands. The typical species, known as the Chinese hound's tongue, is native to meadows and mountainous regions in clearings and forest edges in eastern China, as well as India, the Himalayas, and Afghanistan. This biennial plant, usually grown as an annual, forms lanceolate and veined leaf rosettes covered in stiff, slightly dull green hairs, from which hairy stems emerge with leaves that branch out in the upper part. These stems can reach a minimum height of 50cm (20in) and bear inflorescences in terminal racemes from May to August, consisting of small flowers with 5 petals, the colour of which can vary depending on the plants, closely resembling our woodland forget-me-nots. The Chinese forget-me-not self-seeds abundantly in the garden. The 'Mystery Rose' cultivar forms 70cm (28in) tall stems and its foliage covers 30cm (12in) of ground. Its flowers are pale pink with a purplish pink centre. They attract a large number of pollinators.

The 'Mystery Rose' Chinese forget-me-not is as charming as it is robust. It is traditionally used to enhance the beauty of slightly heavy flowers such as double tulips, peonies, and roses by lightening their flowering. It can also be planted in large groups in perennial borders, edging, and containers. It pairs well with many annual flowers such as love-in-a-mist, cosmos, and poppies... The delicate flowers of the Chinese forget-me-not are highly decorative in spring bouquets, alongside irises and lilacs, for example. This simple plant is ideal for brightening up neglected areas of the garden.