Orange Bush Monkeyflower

Year-round

Sticky monkeyflower is a small evergreen native shrub that thrives in San Francisco's mild, foggy climate and needs very little water once it settles in.

• Give it full sun near the coast. San Francisco's fog keeps things cooler here, so this plant can handle more direct sun than it would in a hot inland yard.
• Plant it in fast draining soil. Standing water around the roots is the most common way this plant is lost.
• Water deeply about once a week for the first year to help it establish, then cut back to about once a month, or less, in summer once it is settled in.
• The leaves and stems feel a little sticky to the touch. That is normal for this species, not a sign of a problem.
• It grows about 2 to 4 feet tall and wide in a loose, mounding shape, and it is generally left alone by deer.
• Hummingbirds and native bees visit the flowers, and the plant is a caterpillar host for the variable checkerspot butterfly.
• This shrub occurs naturally in the San Francisco Bay Area, so it is a good fit for a Bay Area yard.
• This plant is not on the ASPCA toxic plant list for dogs or cats.

Fall

Fall is a good time to plant a new sticky monkeyflower in San Francisco and do a light cleanup as the first rains return.

• San Francisco's rainy season usually starts in October or November. Planting then lets roots establish over the wet months with less watering from you.
• Do a light tidy of any dead or overly long stems, but avoid a hard cutback into old woody growth.
• Once fall rain returns, you can usually stop supplemental watering altogether.

A light fall tidy keeps the shrub from looking overgrown heading into winter, which reads as intentional and helps avoid a violation letter.

Winter

Winter in San Francisco is mild and wet, and this plant handles it outdoors without special frost protection in most yards.

• San Francisco rarely sees damaging frost. This species is cold hardy well below the temperatures the city typically reaches.
• Let winter rain do the watering. Supplemental water usually is not needed once the rainy season is underway.
• Blooms can already start returning by late winter in San Francisco's mild climate.
• Hold off on pruning in the dead of winter. Wait until after the current bloom flush finishes.

A light shape up along the front walk or curb facing side keeps the plant looking tended through the wet season, which reads as intentional and helps avoid a violation letter.

Spring

Spring is usually the biggest bloom push of the year in San Francisco, and the best time to shape the plant.

• Bloom often starts as early as February in San Francisco's mild climate and continues into summer.
• Pinch back the growing tips in early spring to keep the plant bushy and full instead of leggy.
• Snip off spent flowers through the season. It encourages more blooms and keeps the plant looking tidy.
• San Francisco's rainy season is winding down by late spring. Keep any supplemental water light, this plant does not want to stay wet.

Regular deadheading keeps the front facing side full of color instead of going to seed heads, which reads as intentional and helps avoid a violation letter.

Summer

San Francisco's summer is naturally cool and foggy, so this plant needs less water here than almost anywhere else it grows.

• The coastal fog does a lot of the watering for you. Most established plants need at most one deep watering a month through summer, sometimes none at all.
• Because the coast stays cool, this plant may hold onto more of its leaves through summer here than it would in a hot inland garden, where it often drops leaves and slows down in the heat.
• Check the soil before watering. If it still feels moist from spring or from fog drip, wait.
• Overwatering in summer is the most common way this plant is lost. When unsure, water less, not more.

Year-round

Orange bush monkeyflower is a tough, low-water California native that greens up with the winter rains and goes semi-dormant in the dry summer, so plan its care around the wet season and not against it.

• Give it full sun near the coast, or a little afternoon shade if you are more inland.
• Water a new plant through its first summer only, then wean it off so an established plant gets little to no summer water.
• Lightly shear and tip-pinch after the main spring bloom to keep it bushy instead of leggy.
• Skip fertilizer, it does fine in lean, fast-draining soil.
• It feeds hummingbirds and native bees and is a confirmed larval host for the variable checkerspot butterfly per Calscape (California Native Plant Society).

Fall

Fall is the best time to plant and the moment an established plant wakes back up as the first rains arrive.

• If you are adding one, plant now so the roots settle in over the cool wet winter.
• Water a brand-new fall planting to get it started, then let the rains take over.
• Leave established plants to green up on their own as the rains return.
• Clear any heavy leaf litter piled against the crown so the base does not stay soggy.

Winter

Winter is the cool, wet growing season, so this native mostly takes care of itself and wants no help from the hose.

• Turn off any irrigation, winter rain is all it needs.
• Let it put on fresh green growth to fuel the spring bloom.
• Make sure the soil drains well and water never pools around the base.
• Do any light structural pruning late in winter, before the spring flush.

Spring

Spring is peak bloom, so enjoy the flowers and do your one real shaping job right as the main flush winds down.

• Deadhead or lightly shear spent flower stems to stretch the bloom.
• Once the main bloom fades, cut the whole plant back by about a third to keep it compact.
• Tip-pinch new growth to push a bushy, rounded shape.
• Hold off on heavy watering even if spring turns warm, the plant is heading into its dry season.

The light after-bloom shear reads as intentional, tended shaping and keeps a tidy front-yard mound rather than a rangy sprawl that can draw a violation letter.

Summer

In the hot dry summer this plant drops some leaves and looks a bit ratty, which is normal drought-dormancy and not a sign it is dying.

• Do not overwater to fix the tired look, summer water is the fastest way to rot an established plant.
• Give an established plant no more than about one deep soak a month, and often none at all.
• Leave the semi-dormant foliage alone, it will reflush when the fall rains arrive.
• A quick light tidy of the rangiest stems keeps it looking cared for.

A light tidy of the rangiest stems keeps the semi-dormant plant reading as an intentional, cared-for native rather than a dead shrub, which is what avoids a curb-appeal violation letter in a dry LA summer.