Bee Balm

Uses:

  • Pollinator Gardens
  • Low Maintenance Gardens
  • Containers & Planters

Features:

  • Native to North America
  • Deer Resistant
  • Very Fragrant

Sunlight:

  • Partial Sun to Full Sun
  • 5+ Hours of Direct Sun

Growing Zones:

Bee Balm Care

Bee Balm, often called monarda, is a native flowering perennial that blooms from summer to fall and has fragrant foliage all growing season. The plants are very beneficial to wildlife including bees, butterflies, & birds.

Why Buy Bee Balm Online?

Bee Balm is a flowering perennial in the genus Monarda and part of the mint family Lamiaceae. Other common names include horsemint, oswego tea, and bergamot. Bergamot was inspired by the fragrance of the leaves, which is very similar to bergamot orange (citrus bergamia). Bee Balm is native to Eastern North America and Canada.

The plant has slim serrated leaves. The flowers are tubular, and come in a variety of colors including pink, lilac, purple and red. The wild flowers are single, but some cultivated forms have double flowers. 

The Best Way To Use Bee Balm

Monarda plants do the best in sun. Plants growing in shaded areas will spread horizontally and won’t produce as many flowers. The soil needs to be moist but well drained. Bee balm is winter hardy in growing zones 4 to 8. The plants will grow from 10 to 24 inches tall and up to 28 inches wide.

Bee balm will attract hummingbirds, pollinating insects and other insects that control garden pests. Plant these in flower gardens, as a garden border or in a garden planter.

  • Attracts hummingbirds, bees and other beneficial insects

  • Native to North America

  • Pink, lilac, purple and red flowers

  • Growing zones 4 to 8

Bee Balm Companion Plants

Plants that go well with bee balm are sun loving annuals, perennials and shrubs that pollinators love. Some of our favorite plants to grow with bee balm are phlox, roses, coneflowers, daylilies, and also pairs well with ornamental grasses. It is also frequently grown in vegetable gardens because the foliage can help keep several common pests away.

Coneflowers

Daylilies

Phlox

Vegetable Plants