Plant in full sun to light shade in a well-drained soil. After plants are established, fertilize and water sparingly. It is hardy to about 20 degrees F. The flowering plants with their wonderful face like flowers are quite beautiful when in full bloom and are also attractive to hummingbirds. Often the plants can look a bit haggard later when not in bloom, so are best in areas where they can be enjoyed from a distance and left to dry out mid-summer until rejuvenated by fall and winter rains. Some summer shade helps prolong flowering and foliage as does a spritz of water, but regular irrigation through summer usually shortens the plants life. Mimulus 'Pumpkin' was a variety we first heard about when at horticulture advisory meeting at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in 2001. It was noted then that Nevin Smith had commented on this cultivar's vigor and disease resistance and so we purchased plants from Suncrest Nursery. We were under the presumption that it was Nevin Smith's introduction but Nevin said he got it from Cornflower Farms and they claim they never grew it so its origin remained a bit of a mystery. In 2004 in an effort to figure out who introduced this plant we sent an email to everyone we knew who grew or bred monkeyflowers and while many people responded, the origin of this plant remained a mystery until Dagmar Collins responded that she was the one to select and name this plant noting that In the early 1990s she have germiated a mixed bag of seed that had come from Gerda Isenberg of Yerba Buena Nursery in in Woodside, California and from this seed she selected and named Mimulus 'Pumpkin', Mimulus 'Canary Frills', and Mimulus 'Pale Moon' " – way to go Dagmar!! We have grown and sold this nice plant since 2002.

In the newest treatment of the tribe Mimuleae, which includes Diplacus, Mimulus, and Mimetanthe, these plants have been removed from the Figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, and placed with the genus Phryma (previously included in Verbenaceae) into the new family Phrymaceae. The woody species of Mimulus that are the parents of most of the hybrids have been separated into the genus Diplacus in the past, then gone back to Mimulus, but in the current treatment in the UC Berkeley Jepson eFlora all of the woody Mimulus are back in the genus Diplacus. This change has not been accepted by all and not to cause undo confusion for our customers and staff, we continue to use the name Mimulus until such time as this name change is more widely known. The original generic name is from the Latin word 'mimus' meaning "mimic actor" that is derived from the Greek word 'mimos' that means means "imitator" and references the flowers that look like painted faces. The name Diplacus comes from the Greek words 'di' meaning "two" or "double" and 'plax' or 'plakos' meaning "a flat round plate", "tablet" or "broad surface" in reference to the manner in with the fruit capsule splits. 

This information about Mimulus 'Pumpkin' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.