Mimulus aurantiacus Mai Tai Red

Mimulus aurantiacus 'Mai Tai Red', a shrubby and bushy plant that blooms for long weeks between late spring and early autumn. The flowers, of intense red, succeed each other on a slightly sticky bright green foliage. Easy to grow in any well-drained soil, this variety is suitable for both flowering pots and sunny borders and rockeries.

Mimulus 'Mai Tai Red' is a recent horticultural selection derived from a botanical species called Mimulus aurantiacus, the Orange Mimulus or Sticky Mimulus. The latter is a prostrate shrub with sticky stems from the Scrophulariaceae family native to the United States, widespread from southwest Oregon to most of California. Botanists have recently renamed this plant Diplacus aurantiacus subsp. aurantiacus. In theory, it is a perennial, but it does not tolerate frost very well, especially in wet soil. However, this Mimulus adapts to many types of soil: moist, dry, sandy or rocky, limestone or not.

The 'Mai Tai Red' variety quickly forms a small upright and well-branched bush 45-50cm tall and 30-35cm wide. Its stems bear slightly sticky green leaves measuring 3 to 7cm long and 1cm wide, with slightly curled edges. Flowering begins in May-June, depending on the climate, and continues incessantly until October if the plant does not lack water. In open ground, if the summer is very dry, the flowering will decline. The upright floral stems bear tubular flowers at the base, opening widely into 5 wide and toothed lobes. Each flower measures about 2cm long and 3.5cm in diameter. The flowers appear in pairs or in whorls (small bouquets) along each stem. They are pollinated by bees.

In northerly regions such as north of the Loire, or in our cold and humid regions, it is preferable to cultivate this Mimulus 'Mai Tai Red' in a pot like Pelargoniums. Find a small place for it in winter in your veranda or in a cold greenhouse. On the other hand, in a coastal garden, you can plant it in a rockery, above a wall, or on a slope, in full sun or partial shade. You can associate it with wallflowers, Dicliptera suberecta, or Lithodora oleifolia.