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Red Bush Monkeyflower
Diplacus aurantiacus var. puniceus
  
About Red Bush Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus var. puniceus) 49 Nurseries Carry This Plant Bush Monkey Flower (Diplacus aurantiacus var. puniceus) is a small shrub native to the coast areas of Southern California. It grows to about 2 feet high, has dark green leaves, and bright red trumpet-shaped flowers that can last for most of the year. However, the blooming period depends greatly on the rainfall pattern. It is an important food source for hummingbirds. It prefers full sun by the coast and part shade inland.

In most cases, this plant needs to go semi-deciduous in the summer. Direct watering in late summer or early fall with often kill this plant. Best to let it go dormant for the hottest months of the year, and then watch it come back with the rains. Healthy plants will readily reseed.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
1 - 2 ft tall
2 - 3 ft wide

Form
Form
Mounding

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Semi-Deciduous,

Fragrance
Fragrance
Slight

Flower Color
Flower Color
Orange, Red

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Hummingbirds, pollinators

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 7 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Dry, well draining soil.. Soil PH: 6 - 8

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant, Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), Black Sage (Salvia mellifera), California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica), California Encelia (Encelia californica), Wild Hyacinth (Dichelostemma capitatum), Chamise (Adenostoma spp), Penstemon spp, Yucca spp, various cactus species, various annual wildflowers

Maintenance
Maintenance
Tolerates light pruning during it's deciduous season. Stick to twigs and shoots, but avoid cutting into woody tissue which will often kill this plant..

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Mixed chaparral and sagebrush scrub, dry rocky slopes, flats

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 9.5" - 35.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.19" - 2.65", Coldest Month: 36.0" - 57.3", Hottest Month: 60.9" - 80.8", Humidity: 1.37" - 28.60", Elevation: 7" - 7631"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Mimulus puniceus,Diplacus puniceus


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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