All last summer I enjoyed the seep monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus, that grows in a shady and permanently wet curve of the creekside road we travel along to get between our ridge and the rest of the world. The blooms are the color of egg yolks, and the leaves are soft and green.
It seems to disappear each winter, so though it can be perennial, I think it's mostly an annual.
I was waiting for the papery translucent pods to ripen, like little lanterns, and then I gathered a dozen or so.
The seeds are very small.
I mixed them with sand, and sowed a seed flat. In a few days, they obligingly germinated.
All of them.
Above is after I had already removed and potted quite a few. I kept on potting them till in the end, the ones left in the flat were tall and scraggly. So I potted them too, then I regretted it.
Still the healthy ones are quite sturdy.
What am I going to do with all these water loving shade loving plants, here on the sunny ridge! - Give them to friends and neighbors with more shade and damp spots, of course!
And I've planted a few in my unprotected front yard. So far, nothing has eaten them. I did give them a spray with deer repellent.
I put them in a shady bed where the Douglas Iris were, that I removed so they wouldn't cross pollinate with the local native ones I'm growing from seed.
I wondered if the wild ones on the creekside road were also sprouting, with this unseasonably warm weather. They are!
To learn more about seep monkey flower, see this Las Pilitas page.
Googling for info also took me to this very interesting and disturbing page (it's a PDF file), where I read about Mimulus guttatus in Europe, where it is an invasive weed:
It seems to disappear each winter, so though it can be perennial, I think it's mostly an annual.
I was waiting for the papery translucent pods to ripen, like little lanterns, and then I gathered a dozen or so.
The seeds are very small.
I mixed them with sand, and sowed a seed flat. In a few days, they obligingly germinated.
All of them.
Above is after I had already removed and potted quite a few. I kept on potting them till in the end, the ones left in the flat were tall and scraggly. So I potted them too, then I regretted it.
Still the healthy ones are quite sturdy.
What am I going to do with all these water loving shade loving plants, here on the sunny ridge! - Give them to friends and neighbors with more shade and damp spots, of course!
And I've planted a few in my unprotected front yard. So far, nothing has eaten them. I did give them a spray with deer repellent.
I put them in a shady bed where the Douglas Iris were, that I removed so they wouldn't cross pollinate with the local native ones I'm growing from seed.I wondered if the wild ones on the creekside road were also sprouting, with this unseasonably warm weather. They are!
To learn more about seep monkey flower, see this Las Pilitas page.
Googling for info also took me to this very interesting and disturbing page (it's a PDF file), where I read about Mimulus guttatus in Europe, where it is an invasive weed:
Pathways of introductionThis is a chilling message, indeed. I say, look to your ornamentals. It makes sense to grow ornamentals that would not be able to grow unassisted in your native habitat. Though in these days of climate change, you just don't know what your native habitat will be in a few years.
Mimulus guttatus has been introduced as an ornamental plant (intended introduction). Therefore, garden shops can be considered to have favoured the invasion of Mimulus guttatus in some parts of Europe. The species is now spreading along streams and water courses.
Comments
As an aside, when I was in NZ, I found that they have some CA natives, like CA poppies, lupine, and quail!, which they frown on (considered invasive, all), as well as some we gasp at like sweet broom and thistle, which they seem to accept. Huh!
It will be interesting to see how well your adult plants do and if they come back on their own, which would be a sign that they may be 'too vigorous' I say let 'em! Sue
But noting its extremely high germination rate, and how surprisingly tolerant it is of a wide range of light, from shade to - well - greenhouse, I can see how it could get out of bounds if conditions are favorable. I think TM has grown some, but I forget how it did in her garden if so - maybe she'll chime in.
I'm going to try planting some where they get more light, but have a lot of access to water - i.e. near a hose spigot I can spritz them with on passing! I'll pass along my results.
However, I do caution readers living in other areas where it might go rampant - you probably want to avoid this plant.
"Mimulus guttatus, a dicot, is an annual or perennial herb (rhizomatous) that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to North America. [Well not now!] ... usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally found in non wetlands."
So SFG, you are definitely in its native zone.
That's why planting natives is so much less hassle!