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Products > Mimulus puniceus
 
Mimulus puniceus - Red Sticky Monkey-flower
   
Image of Mimulus puniceus
 
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Shrub
Family: Phrymaceae (previously Scrophulariaceae)
Origin: California (U.S.A.)
California Native (Plant List): Yes
Evergreen: Yes
Flower Color: Orange
Bloomtime: Spring/Summer
Synonyms: [Diplacus aurantiacus var. puniceus]
Height: 2-3 feet
Width: 2-3 feet
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Summer Dry: Yes
Deer Tolerant: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 10-15° F
Mimulus puniceus (Red Sticky Monkey-flower) - A small shrub that typically grows 2 to 3 feet tall by as wide with deep green sticky lanceolate leaves that are 1-2 1/2 inch long by about 1/2 inch wide. In spring through much of the summer the showy inch long red funnel-shaped flowers are borne on upright stems and have two lips - the top lip is split once and the bottom lip is split twice resulting in five frilly petal lobes.

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 12 to 15 degrees F. The flowering plants with their wonderful face like flowers are quite beautiful when in full bloom and are also attractive to hummingbirds but deer seem to mostly leave this plant alone. 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.

Sticky Monkey-flower is native to southwestern North America from southwestern Oregon south through most of California but this red form, which previously was considered a variety of Mimulus aurantiacus but has been elevated to a species, is found from Santa Barbara south through San Diego counties and integrates with the Southern Sticky monkey-flower, Mimulus longiflorus which ranges further south into Baja California.

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 puniceus 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.

 
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