Mimulas

Last summer, I wrote a post about the mimulas that I'd planted as annuals. On checking the stats on my stat counter, I see that many people are searching for information on Mimulas, and are ending up at the post I wrote last May.  Well...I'm really no expert on Mimulas (as that post will show). In fact, I knew very little about them last year. I think I know a little bit more this year. (I'm sure there must be some-one out there who has a great deal of knowledge on these plants).

Last spring, I bought a few small seedlings (about 12 I think) from our local nursery. I bought them as annuals - which I was sure they were. The folk who worked at the nursery didn't seem to know much about them ! I searched and searched for information on growing them - there isn't much ! I had a wild variety of Mimulas growing in my garden in Africa. I never paid any attention to them at all - they did their own thing. And of course, because of the tropical climate I lived in, they never died down or faded away.

Anyway - back to the Mims I'm growing now.

They were really lovely last year. I planted them in full sun, about 6inches apart, and treated them the way I did the other annuals. They grew to about 12" in height, and flowered all the way through the summer. In fact, they were very prolific. I deadheaded them regularly. Looking back, I could have planted them even further apart - they are really bushy plants.

Here's a photo from last summer. This photo shows the size of the plants that I originally planted.

And here they are later in the summer.

As winter was closing in, and all the annuals were on their last legs, the mimulas died down too. As I said, I thought they were annuals.  They disappeared completely. I covered all my little beds with a good 3inches of bark chips over the winter.

Imagine my surprise, when the weather started warming up, and the Mims appeared. They have travelled too ! It looks like they've sent out runners, or shoots underground. I'll dig a few up gently, and have a look. They've come up thick and bushy again.

Here you can see what they looked like last month - they're on the left of the square (almost in the centre of the photo).

And here's a photo I took last week - they're ready to burst into flower.

And I took this photo yesterday.

There you have it ! I will be treating them as perennials from now on - and giving them a few good feeds over the summer.

Very rewarding plants - the speckled flowers are unusual, and everyone who saw them commented on them. If you can get your hands on some - do grow them.

I hope this post helped those of you are looking for info on growing them.  You can always leave a comment if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

Comments

[Linda]

SO glad to find your information on mimulas. I found some early this season at my local nursery and planted them in large containers near my patio. They get morning shade and afternoon sun. I hope they will survive the low humidity and heat of our Colorado summer, and would love to think they might overwinter for me as well.

Happy gardening, and thanks for all your information. Your little garden looks lovely - a great spot for a relaxing cup of tea!

L.

[Lorraine]

Thanks for visiting Linda. My mims are growing in full sun all summer - of course, we have a lot of rain (it's England after all !) But I'm sure they wouldn't mind dry weather - as long as they are kept well watered. Do you have a blog ? If so, let me know the url and I'll come and visit.