Mimulus cardinalis

Scarlet Monkeyflower

Scarlet Monkeyflower

Have a wet place in your garden (such as near a birdbath, mister, or hose) that gets a good amount of sun? Then you have the perfect location for a Scarlet Monkeyflower.

When happy, this plant will build a nice network of light yellow-green stems and leaves during the spring, easily growing to 3 or 4 feet wide and 1 to 2 feet tall. Then in summer, a profusion of red flowers with an orange flush to the throat – larger and narrower than common for the species – will appear, persisting well into September. Ours are frequently visited by hummingbirds. Feel free to cut the plant back hard in the fall.

Unlike most monkeyflowers, which are drought tolerant, this one loves to be wet. Ours are in clay and get refreshed everyday by a timed mister that is part of our birdbath. Also atypical of the species, ours do better with more sun – when we tried these in a shadier spot, they were unhappy and died in their first year.

Google
 
Search Web www.wildscaping.com