Annuals & Biennials

Mimulus
monkey flower

- Height 1/2-1 ft (15-30 cm)
- Planting distance 9 in (23 cm)
- Flowers early summer to midfall
- Moisture-retentive soil
- Sunny or lightly shaded site
- Half-hardy annual

Mimulus is a large genus of mainly perennial garden plants, but some hybrids from Chile - a race of mixed parentage known as Mimulus x hybridus - are grown as half-hardy annuals. These produce flowers (said to resemble the face of a grinning monkey) in profusion from early summer until midfall where summers are not too hot. The blooms may be bright red, orange, or yellow. The annual monkey flower is one of the few bedding plants to tolerate light shade and flourish in damp soil. It is useful for filling window boxes and hanging baskets out of direct sun or for edging lightly shaded borders.

Popular species and cultivars
Several cultivars are available.
'Calypso Hybrids' produce robust plants, to 1 ft (30 cm) high, bearing a mass of orange, yellow, burgundy, and pink flowers, singly or in bicolors.
'Magic' is an early-flowering mixture in bright red, orange, yellow, and crimson, as well as pink, pale yellow, and several bicolors. It grows 6 in (15 cm) high.
'Queen's Prize' has mixed-color flowers (some are mottled or spotted). It grows 1 ft (30 cm) high.
'Red Emperor' has dazzling scarlet flowers and reaches 6 in (15 cm) high.

Annuals
and
Biennials