Growing Cynoglossum (Chinese Forget-Me-Not): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Cynoglossum, commonly called Chinese forget-me-not, is a true-blue cut flower similar in color to a garden forget-me-not but larger-flowered and considerably easier to grow from seed.
Needs darkness, not light, to germinate
This is one of the few flowers here that runs opposite the usual rule: cover the seed rather than leaving it exposed, since cynoglossum needs darkness to germinate. Transplant, sowing 3 to 4 weeks before your last frost, or direct-seed as soon as the soil can be worked. Germination is fast, just 5 to 8 days at 65-70°F. Space plants 9 to 12 inches apart; mature plants reach 18 to 24 inches tall.
Harvest and other uses
Cut for a vase once about half the florets on a stem have opened. Beyond cutting, cynoglossum works as a beneficial-insect planting, drawing pollinators to a nearby vegetable bed that needs the visits.
Cynoglossum has no well-established companion pairings, and nothing it needs to be kept away from. At 4 plants per square foot, it’s a good pollinator-support cut flower for the Garden Designer, planted near crops that benefit from extra pollinator traffic.
Source: Cynoglossum (Chinese Forget-Me-Not): Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Cynoglossum (Chinese Forget-Me-Not) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 1.5-2 ft
Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Either works.
When to plant cynoglossum (Chinese forget-me-not), by zone
Every zone cynoglossum (Chinese forget-me-not) grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2a & 2b | Apr 22–Apr 29 | Apr 29–May 6 | Jul 13–Jul 20 |
| 3a & 3b | May 2–May 9 | May 9–May 16 | Jul 23–Jul 30 |
| 4a & 4b | Apr 17–Apr 24 | Apr 24–May 1 | Jul 8–Jul 15 |
| 5a & 5b | Apr 12–Apr 19 | Apr 19–Apr 26 | Jul 3–Jul 10 |
| 6a & 6b | Mar 28–Apr 4 | Apr 4–Apr 11 | Jun 18–Jun 25 |
| 7a & 7b | Mar 13–Mar 20 | Mar 20–Mar 27 | Jun 3–Jun 10 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 25–Mar 4 | Mar 4–Mar 11 | May 18–May 25 |
| 9a & 9b | Jan 18–Jan 25 | Jan 25–Feb 1 | Apr 10–Apr 17 |
| 10a & 10b | Jan 2–Jan 9 | Jan 9–Jan 16 | Mar 25–Apr 1 |
| 11a & 11b | Dec 4–Dec 11 | Dec 11–Dec 18 | Feb 24–Mar 3 |
Bloom dates are about 75 days after the sow or plant-out date, not after starting seeds indoors.
Zone 2 sows before zone 3 here, which looks wrong and is not. USDA zones rank winter cold, not season length, and zone 2 is mostly interior Alaska, where hard winters come with warm summers. More on what a zone measures.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Cynoglossum (Chinese Forget-Me-Not) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 4 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1.5-2 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- 'Firmament' cynoglossum: Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this as the best blue forget-me-not for cut flowers, their standard offering of the species. (source)
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy cynoglossum seeds
None of the seed suppliers we list carries cynoglossum seeds right now. A local garden center or a specialty seed house is the place to look.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this page also go to other retailers we may earn a commission from as an affiliate, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products with a clear consensus of positive, independent reviews, or ones we bought and use ourselves. Each item on our gear page says which.
See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing cynoglossum (Chinese forget-me-not)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
%3A%20A%20true-blue%20cut%20flower%20similar%20in%20color%20to%20a%20garden%20forget-me-not%20but%20larger%20and%20easier%20to%20grow%20from%20seed%2C%20also%20useful%20for%20drawing%20pollinators.)
Pin this for later
Growing Cynoglossum (Chinese Forget-Me-Not): A true-blue cut flower similar in color to a garden forget-me-not but larger and easier to grow from seed, also useful for drawing pollinators.
Save to Pinterest