Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Sunday, May 07, 2006
The Joy of Seeds
Latest infatuation: Mimulus x hybridus.
My first Mimulus from seed has just started to bloom. What a cool plant! The family (Scrophulariaceae) resemblance is there - the flowers look something like a wilder, more open, more tropical, snapdragon. But like its snapdragon cousins, it's supposed to fizzle in the heat of summer. Oops, check that, I just looked at GRIN and Mimulus is now in the family Phrymaceae, and Antirrhinum (snapdragons) are now in the family Plantaginaceae. Which is strange, because earlier I was thinking how much the Mimulus leaves remind me of the lawn weed Plantain. Those wacky taxonomists - who hands out research grants to them so thay can make life difficult for gardeners? Where was I? Oh yes, the Mimulus flowers are very attractive. The one that opened is a very pale yellow with burgundy blotches. My seed packet is mixed colors so I can't wait to see what the others look like. I just read that there are many named varieties of Mimulus x hybridus (see the end of this page), but I only recall seeing mixed colors in seed catalogs.
I got back into seed-starting by accident. The last few years have seen me taking the easy way out - buying lots of new trendy annuals and arranging them into mixed containers. But this year, not wanting to spend much money on plants, while spending a lot of time staring at a computer screen, I found myself visiting the websites of seed merchants. And then I found myself with a large pile of seed packets. Some of them are old habits - coleus, cosmos, coriander, basil, tomatoes, peppers, portulaca. Some represent the triumph of marketing - Zinnia 'Zowie! Yellow Flame', Nicotiana 'Perfume Deep Purple', Coriander 'Delfino'. And some, such as Mimulus, are wild stabs in the dark.
Since beginning this post (3 days ago!), I've learned of one issue with Mimulus. The flowers only last one day. But they fall off cleanly while they are still in good condition and if you pick them up and float them in a bowl of water, they'll last another couple of days.
5 Comments:
The throat on that flower is just lovely. I don't think I have ever grown Mimulus. Does it have a different common name?
I think the common name is monkey flower. My seeds came from Thompson & Morgan.
My second plant to bloom has flowers the same as the first. I'm hoping for different colors from the remaining ones.
Thanks. I think I have heard of monkey flower but I have never grown it. I will have to give them a try.
Hi, I just read about ur mimulus seedlings and I bought 4 at the garden center and I have noticed that the flowers don't last long and they are like tiny petunias. Im hoping to learn how to save their seeds. Maybe u can post some pics of them.thanks.
I just transplanted the last of my mimulus seedlings (now good-sized) into their summer homes. They all turned out to be some variation on the "yellow-with-burgundy-splotches" theme. I'll try to get some pictures posted this week, but they aren't flowering much at present.
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