Once you know how to grow bee balm, you will swiftly come to realise how monarda, or bergamot, came by its common name.
This beautiful perennial is one of the best plants for pollinators and just a couple of plants in your yard will soon bring them buzzing.
We have two in our back garden and every spring I rejoice to see their tiny new shoots emerging through the soil, The textured leaves are richly aromatic and just as much a talking point as the plant's bright tufty flowers.
How to grow monarda
Bee balm can be bought as young plants or sown from seed. The best time to plant monarda is either the spring, when the soil is damp from winter rain but starting to warm up under increased sunlight, or the fall when the ground has been heated by the summer but more likely to be dampened by increasing amounts of rain.
The flowers, which appear in summer and fall, are a mass of tubular petals in shades of pink and purple as well as white. Bergamot is the perfect addition to a butterfly border, as this plant is a magnet for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Very often the little leaves directly below the flowers are tinged attractively with purple or red, making the entire plant a joy to grow.
Growing habits of monarda
Monarda is a North American native plant, but not considered invasive. It can grow to 2-4ft tall, though there are also dwarf varieties of bee balm that reach just 15in tall, making them perfect plants for small and courtyard gardens and perennial pots.
It grows quickly, producing dense clumps that need dividing every few years to keep them productive, and does best in a sunny spot with soil that drains well but doesn’t dry out.
There are several varieties of monarda and because of their distinctive scent they are one of the best plants to grow if deer regularly visit your yard, as they will leave them un-nibbled. Bee balm is frost hardy and suitable to grow in most US hardiness zones.
Popular monarda varieties include balmy bee balm, which is resistant to white mold (powdery mildew) and available as plants from Nature Hills. It produces flowers in shades of lilac and purple.
If you want to grow your bergamot from seed, try the variety ‘Panorama’ (seeds available from Amazon) which will flower from its first year in a variety of colors. The plants and blooms will get larger in subsequent years.
Citrus scented lemon bee balm has pale flowers in white or blush and is available to buy as seeds from Amazon.
Container gardeners can get their monarda fix with the compact variety 'Petite Delight', which grows to 1-2ft, has flowers in shades of lavender and rose and can be grown in US hardiness zones 3-9. 'Petite Delight' plants can be bought from Garden Goods Direct.
How to care for monarda
Soil: Bee balms don’t like ground that is too wet or dry. They do best in light, fertile soil that has been enriched with well rotted compost and manure - this will also help drainage in heavier soils and allows thin soils to hold onto their moisture, providing ideal conditions for monarda.
Light: They like a sunny spot, though in the hottest areas they may benefit from light shade that stops them scorching. Too much shade, a north-facing border for example, will cause plants to grow thin, pale and leggy as they stretch up to find more sunlight.
Watering: Ensure deep watering on planting, and regular irrigation during the first year to ensure good establishment. Make sure you avoid the most common garden watering mistakes, and make sure the ground stays just damp and the plant itself dry, as wet leaves can cause powdery mildew to develop.
Fertilizing: I feed ours at the start of the growing season when the first new leaves appear, using a quality general purpose fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro Shake N Feed on Amazon which I water in after application. In the fall and early winter, before the first frost, I mulch around the plant with well-rotted compost or manure to insulate the roots and feed the soil ready for the next year’s growth.
Pruning: Pinch out monarda's growing tips in spring to make them bushy so they carry an abundance of flowers. Deadhead as blooms fade to encourage plants to produce more buds. In the fall, you can either cut back the dead stems or leave them standing to help protect the plant’s crown through winter and provide shelter for hibernating insects and invertebrates
Toxicity: Monarda is a member of the mint family and is widely used as a herbal tea and in cookery, such as a salad topping, where its smoky aroma adds interest. In traditional medicine, bee balm has been used for generations in salves, as a steam to beat nasal congestion and as a tincture, but always seek medical advice before trying herbal remedies. Growing monarda in your yard is brilliant for wildlife, and its nectar can provide fuel for hummingbirds as they set out on their annual migration.
FAQs
Can I grow bee balm from seed?
Yes, but it monarda is not the simplest plant to grow from seed. The seeds need stratification, or a period of cold, in order to germinate strongly, so either sow them outside in the fall or sow in bags of compost in early spring and store them in the fridge for a month before transferring them to a seed tray.
Then germinate the seeds and pot on the seedlings when they are large enough to handle, before hardening them off so they get used to the prevailing conditions in your yard.
How can I propagate bee balm?
Although monarda is a perennial, it is not a long-lived variety so it’s always worth taking cuttings, while avoiding the most common cuttings mistakes, and dividing plants just in case. You can divide mature plants every 2-3 years as they produce large clumps, or take cuttings in the spring or summer. These can be winterized and planted out the following year.
Can monarda be grown in containers?
Yes, compact varieties of monarda are ideal for containers, but make sure the pot has good drainage holes. You will also need to water and feed pot-grown plants more frequently than those in the ground as they have limited access to nutrients and water. At the start of the growing season I like to add a slow-release fertilizer such as Osmocote smart-release plant food from Amazon to my containers, and supplement it with liquid tomato feed such as Dynamite mater magic from Walmart when the flower buds appear.
Because plants bulk up rapidly they may need repotting in fresh compost, such as this Burpee organic potting soil on Amazon, and a larger pot each year, or you can divide the plants for several containers of plants.
There really is no reason not to grow bee balm in your yard or on your patio. With its wonderful fragrance and enticing blooms, this laid-back perennial will raise the spirits, boost biodiversity and help native wildlife.
