Bee balm
Monarda didyma · Lamiaceae Popular
Shaggy, colourful flower heads that draw hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. The fragrant leaves smell of mint, and it spreads quickly, so give it room or divide it often.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early July to early August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around bee balm
The planner designed this bed around bee balm when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why bee balm stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bee balm × 3, red
- 2 Winter heath × 9, pink
- 3 Horned violet × 7, purple
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Purple moor grass 'Variegata' × 4, purple
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Daffodil × 10, yellow
Why this plant
- The only red.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller 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 ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From early July to early August.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 48% of the planted ground. The scheme leans cool (pink and purple) and uses red and yellow for warmth. Purple is the colour seen most, on 3 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Bee balm spreads aggressively. Each plant's details say more.
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 goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Shaggy, whorled flower heads add a shape nothing else has, and the seed heads stand well. It runs at the root and gets mildew in dry soil, so give it moisture, air, and neighbours tough enough to hold their ground.
- Hummingbird and bee gardens
- Moist borders
- Naturalistic planting where it can spread
What to plant with bee balm
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Garden phlox: in flower together for four weeks, from mid July; happy in the same moist soil.
- Joe Pye weed 'Gateway': in flower together for three weeks, from late July; bold leaves against its medium ones; tall enough (6 ft) to stand behind it.
- Siberian iris: flowers first, late May to late June, so the spot is never empty; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about bee balm
Does bee balm need sun or shade?
Bee balm 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. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does bee balm 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 flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early July to early August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid July to mid August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 6 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 9 | Late June to late July |
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 be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many bee balm 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 three in one group.
Is bee balm 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.
Do deer eat bee balm?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will bee balm spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is high. Spreads quickly by underground runners and can crowd its neighbours. Dig out the edges or divide every 2 to 3 years.
What flowers after bee balm?
Bee balm is over by early August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- 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.
- Hosta 'Guacamole': from early August to late August, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does bee balm look like in winter?
Bee balm 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.
Is bee balm good for bees and butterflies?
Bee balm is visited by pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of hermit sphinx, orange mint moth and raspberry pyrausta feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Monarda
- Bee balm 'Jacob Cline' Monarda didyma 'Jacob Cline'
- Bee balm 'Petite Delight' Monarda 'Petite Delight'
- Bee balm 'Purple Rooster' Monarda didyma 'Purple Rooster'
- Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' Monarda 'Raspberry Wine'
- Eastern bee balm Monarda bradburiana
- Spotted bee balm Monarda punctata
- Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa
In these guides
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Host plants for the hermit sphinx
- Host plants for the orange mint moth
- Host plants for the raspberry pyrausta
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early July to early August; globes; red, pink, purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; 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
- Comes from
- Eastern North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds
- Host plant for
- Hermit sphinx, Orange mint moth, Raspberry pyrausta
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, wet soil, black walnut
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.