Typical of other California native plants, this mint family perennial is short-lived unless provided with fast-draining soil in winter. Planting on low mounds is recommended. Season-long blooms in purple, red, pink, or white form dense clusters at stem tips on sprawling plants. Creeping stems of M. macrantha form matlike colonies but it is also at home in containers. Highly fragrant M. odoratissima is quite variable, ranging from low mats to 2 feet tall. M. villosa becomes shrublike with branching stems to 2 feet tall and wide.