Plant a message to establish social distancing? (5-2-3)

I believe the answer is:

touch-me-not

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'plant' is the definition.
(touch-me-not is a kind of plant)

'a message to establish social distancing?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'message' could be 'touch' (touch is a kind of message) and 'touch' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for touch-me-not that I've seen is " Plant with seed pods springing open if handled".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.