Mimulus-Monkey Flower

There are 150 different varieties of Mimulus and to propagate them dig up the crown in the spring and divide. Colors range from yellow, pink, red and orange and bloom through the summer into the fall as long as you remove the faded flowers. As perennials they are short lived and prefer moist areas in full sun or partial shade. Native to the west coast of the USA. In early days the plants when cooked acted as a salt substitute. They reach a height of 4-6,”are are deer and rabbit resistant and attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Lantana camara-Lantana

Propagating lantana can be as simple as snipping the stolen around where the root may take hold or by a cutting. It is a perennial from Zones 7/8-11 and an annual everywhere else. It is a cousin to verbena, is poisonous/toxic to animals however butterflies, hummingbirds and bees are attracted to its nectar. It can reach a height of 48", is drought and also deer resistant. It blooms throughout the summer up until frost and colors range from yellow, orange, red, pink and purple. It is also fragrant, a cousin to verbena and a native to Mexico.

Lewisia tweedyi-Tweedy’s Lewisia

Propagating what I believe is one of the most colorful perennials, born and bred in the USA, Pacific Northwest, and a cinch to propagate is lewisia. When I say to propagate you remove the off-sets or pups, what brings to mind are strawberries. You remove the umbilical cord that runs from the parent to the “baby” and plant. Varieties range in color from white, pink, coral and yellow and prefer a soil drainage of crushed gravel because the crown will rot if too damp. Also like most colorful perennials lewisia attracts snails, slugs, aphids and mealy bugs. It also prefers morning sun, average moisture, and planting beneath a well drained dripline is optimum. It will bloom from mid spring until early summer, reaches a height of 6-12", is evergreen and will grow in Zones 5-8. Be aware deer love to snack on it!

Typha minima-Miniature Cat-Tail

Propagating Typha is done in the spring by dividing the crown and the flower is just a miniature of the standard Cat-Tail, with only a height of up to 27". As many know this plant loves moisture and full sun and when the seed head bursts plenty of seed flies around and it is great as cut flower especially during the holidays and grows well in Zones 4-9.

Camelina sativa-Camelina

This is an annual, basically a weed, that is used for biodiesel in planes/jets. It is primarily grown in Northern States because it cannot withstand the heat of summer. In Florida and Georgia they plant it as a winter crop, in by December out by April. It will flower in 85-100 days and it’s the seed heads that are used to make fuel. One acre makes about a gallon. Honeywell got FAA permission to fly to the Paris air show on camelina. They farm it in Montana and have a plant that makes into fuel in Houston. The plant itself has been around since the Bronze age and is native to Northern Europe. It is also used as feedstock. Ethanol as you know is from corn which feeds the world and that’s why some like Camelina. A 50 pound bag of seed can cover 5 acres and the cost to covert runs about $60, however because the seed has about 40% oil, and rich in OMEGA-3 fatty acid, it needs to be stored at 8% humidity or lower or else it becomes combustible and it’s the carbon the plant absorbs that makes it so valuable. It takes in more then is burned in a flight. It grows up to 3' and is in the mustard family.