PlantFiles: Sticky Monkey Flower, Orange Bush Monkeyflower
Diplacus aurantiacus

I love this plant! I bought it at a native plant sale, not really knowing what it was. I forgot all about it, and I was amazed the next year when it started blooming all of a sudden. It has been maintenance-free, and it continues to bloom heavily this year. One of my favorite perennials!

Mimulus aurantiacus, the Bush Monkey Flower or Sticky Monkey Flower, is a flowering plant that grows in a subshrub form, native to southwestern North America from southwestern Oregon south through most of California. It is treated by some botanists in a separate genus from other Mimulus as Diplacus aurantiacus (Curtis) Jeps.

It grows to between 0.5-1.2 m tall, and has deep green sticky leaves 3-7 cm long and 5-10 mm broad, and flowering stems that grow vertically. The flowers are tube-like at the base, 20-25 mm long, with five broad lobes; they occur in a variety of shades from white to red, the most common color being a light orange. They are pollinated by bees and hummingbirds.

It grows in many climates and will thrive in many types of soil, wet, dry, sandy, or rocky. It even grows in serpentine, a soil that most plants have difficulty thriving in because of its unique mineral composition.

The Miwok and Pomo Native Americans used the Sticky Monkey's flowers and roots to treat a number of ailments, but was particularly useful for its antiseptic qualities as it expedited the healing of minor scrapes and burns.

This plant is native to the mountains I live in. It is a wonderful unassuming addition to the dry rocky slopes. It is a little rangy, making it very suitable to natural-looking landscapes. In the early spring I cut it back to a more compact 18 inches or so and then just let it go with little water. (It actually needs none, but looks better with a little.) It grows to about 2 feet high and sprawls out a bit. It is the perfect companion for a beautiful maroon and apricot-colored Pacific Coast hybrid iris. I will post a picture sometime soon. I have rooted cuttings easily in the early fall for planting in the spring.

There is another big bonus--it is deer-proof in my area.

Profuse bloomer over summer months. Vigourous growth. Few pest or mildew problems. Requires good drainage. Should withhold water towards the end of summer to encourage it to go dormant.

One disadvantage for the formal garden is that in my experience the flowers do not drop off after bloom. Unless you pick them off (and they are sticky) they tend to turn brown and dry where they are.