Trippin’ On Two-Tone Minty Magnificence – Prostanthera magnifica

|Prostanthera magnifica floral detail|

Now that’s what I call some serious flower action!  Check out those spotted throats, the fuzzy-funkadelic-fur-coatness of lilac flower petals, and the crazy futuristic fuchsia, shield-like bracts backing up all this beauty!  This two-tone tonic makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

|Prostanthera magnifica in bloom|

May I present Prostanthera magnifica commonly referred to as the Magnificent Prostanthera or Magnificent Mint Bush.  It originates from Western Australia.  I got this dandy evergreen shrub from my friend Jo O’Connell’s Australian Native Plant Nursery.  It was nothing but a leggy twig with a few flowers on it but its beauty stole my heart.  I brought it home and when it finished blooming I pruned it back pretty hard.  It sat quietly with its new haircut for a month or so and then BOOM!  New stems shot out of old every which way and outfitted themselves with a brand new wardrobe of fresh green mint scented foliage.  Indeed, the foliage has a fine minty scent when crushed giving this genus the common name Mint Bush.

|Prostanthera magnifica foliage + form + flower bracts|

In late winter/early spring this year, flower buds began to gather in groups all over the ends of branches and bloom.  From what I hear, Prostanthera magnifica blooms from late winter into summer.  Lucky me!  It tends to grow as an upright, leggy shrub up to 6 feet tall and wide.  It likes full sun/part shade, well-draining, gritty soil, regular to low water, and is hardy down to 25 degrees fahrenheit/-3 degrees celsius.  I have to say I’m so excited to be growing Prostanthera magnifica because it’s not the kind of shrub you see everyday and it makes for one suave spectacle amongst the green foliaged plants I’ve got growing on in my garden.  I’ve got mine in a container but it also does well in the ground.  So, why not grow something different?  Expand your horizons.  Trip out on the two-tone magnificence of Prostanthera magnifica!