Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine'
Monarda 'Raspberry Wine' · Lamiaceae
Shaggy flower heads the colour of red wine, opening from buds like raspberries, on dark stems with scented leaves.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late June to mid August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around bee balm 'Raspberry Wine'
The planner designed this bed around bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' × 4, red
- 2 Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' × 7, pink
- 3 Sea thrift × 8, white
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Quaking grass × 3, tan
- 7 Camassia × 3, blue
- 8 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only red.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is among the tallest plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to brown-eyed Susan (4 ft) and quaking grass (24 in): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 4 plants in 2 groups (3 and 1). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for 8 weeks. From late June to mid August.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 6 groups (67%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. In winter there are still three kinds to look at, creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' and sea thrift among them. Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' stands beside sea thrift, a proven pairing. The plan meets all 17 of the design principles it was checked against, and is Excellent in two categories.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A deep, clear wine red that mixes with pinks and purples, which scarlet does not. It is vigorous and has good resistance to mildew.
- Wine red for a summer border
- Bees and hummingbirds
- Scented foliage
What to plant with bee balm 'Raspberry Wine'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for eight weeks, from late June.
- Garden phlox: in flower together for five weeks, from mid July; happy in the same moist soil.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
Questions about bee balm 'Raspberry Wine'
Does bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' need sun or shade?
Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Early July to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid August |
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 9 | Mid June to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used four in two groups.
Is bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like bee balm 'Raspberry Wine'?
Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Bee balm 'Purple Rooster': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in narrower, purple, not red.
- Mountain mint: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early July to early September, white, not red.
- False sunflower 'Summer Sun': the same job in a bed; 4 in narrower, flowers late June to early September.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by shallow runners into a wide patch. Pull back the edges each spring.
What flowers after bee balm 'Raspberry Wine'?
Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' is over by mid August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' look like in winter?
Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Monarda
- Bee balm Monarda didyma
- Bee balm 'Jacob Cline' Monarda didyma 'Jacob Cline'
- Bee balm 'Petite Delight' Monarda 'Petite Delight'
- Bee balm 'Purple Rooster' Monarda didyma 'Purple Rooster'
- Eastern bee balm Monarda bradburiana
- Spotted bee balm Monarda punctata
- Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (100 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late June to mid August; globes; red, purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Lamiaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.