?Sweet Susita? Monkeyflower is a natural selection of the native keystone plant  Red Monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus puniceus).  ?Sweet Susita? produces larger flowers than the common species  and blooms more over a longer period of time.  The abundant red flowers from Mimulus ?Sweet Susita? are a striking contrast to its lush  glossy green foliage.  This monkeyflower makes a well behaved bush about 2 to 3 feet high and wide  and takes sun or light shade  preferring some light shade in the hottest inland communities.  As with all monkeyflowers  consistent watering can hurt the plant; supplement its water for a month after planting time  then let it alone.  A splash of water once or twice a month in the hottest parts of summer will allow monkeyflower to keep its leaves all year.  Try planting ?Sweet Susita? Monkeyflower along a walkway  or layering it with taller natives behind? its cheery red flowers are unmistakable!  About the name: we named this lovely monkeyflower ?Sweet Susita? after a little girl in a rural Haitian village we met through a non-profit organization called Plant with Purpose.  Every retail purchase of a 'Sweet Susita' generates a $0.50 donation to Plant with Purpose to help impoverished communities like Susita's.