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Lamiaceae (Monardella)



Monardella (odoratissima)


Lamiaceae

Mint


Monardella

odoratissima













Mountain Monardella

MOOD

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon

M. odoratissima grows in montane forests and amongst sagebrush scrub above 600 to 3000 m (2000 to 10,000ft) in Canada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, and Nevada. Specifically, M. odoratissima is found in Northern California coast ranges, Cascade Range, the Sierra Nevadas, Modoc Plateau, White Mountains, and Inyo Mountains. M. odoratissima will grow in wet or dry, rocky, and sandy soils.


Plants

Seed

Container (plug)

262 ml (16 in3) container

14 weeks

Stock Type: Container seedling Root System: Firm plug in container.



Due to small seed size, the easiest method is to sow seed into trays filled with stabilized medium plugs (Q-plugs). Trays are sealed inside plastic bags and placed into refrigeration at 1 to 3 °C for 14 days. Trays are checked weekly and kept moist throughout the stratification period. If mold is evident, trays should be treated with 1% hydrogen peroxide.

Greenhouse growing facility. Q-plugs are lightly covered with nursery grit. Seedlings are transplanted to target containers approximately 2 weeks following removal from stratification. Growing medium used is 40:20:20:20 peat:composted fir bark:perlite:pumice with Nutricote controlled release fertilizer (18N:6P2O5:8K2O with minors; 180-d release rate at 21C) at the rate of 1.5 gram Nutricote per 262 ml container.

Germination is uniform and quite rapid. It is usually complete in 10 days. Following germination (while still in Q-plugs), plants are fertilized with soluble 12-2-14-6Ca-3Mg at 75 ppm for 1 week.

1 to 2 weeks

Seedlings grow rapidly throughout the active growth phase. During the growing season, fertilization depends on weather. Soluble 20-9-20 NPK, 20-18-18 NPK, or 17-5-24 NPK at a rate of 100 ppm is applied weekly throughout the growing season.

12 weeks

No dry-down is done to induce dormancy. Seedlings are moved to an outdoor growing area in late September.

2 weeks

Harvest Date: Late October Storage Conditions: Seedlings are usually outplanted in fall. No storage except in outdoor growing area. Plants are well irrigated prior to shipping and shipped in containers.



M. odoratissima is easy to propagate. The species is a prolific sprouter, but they do not grow from runners. M. odoratissima can be pruned in the late fall to create a bushier plant to help manage the vine habit of this plant in the nursery. M. odoratissima is a beneficial pollinator forb/herb for bees and butterflies.

Dorena Genetic Resource Center Propagation Records, unpublished. iNaturalist Network. nd. Mountain Coyote Mint Monardella odoratissima. URL: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/62678-Monardella-odoratissima (accessed 8 Oct 2018).

Riley, Lee E.; Boudreaux, Tanja. 2018. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Monardella odoratissima Plants 262 ml (16 in3) container; USDA FS - Dorena Genetic Resource Center Cottage Grove, Oregon. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2025/07/16). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.