Wild bergamot
Monarda fistulosa · Lamiaceae
Shaggy lavender-pink flower heads over aromatic, grey-green leaves in midsummer. The native bee balm of dry fields and prairies.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early July to late August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around wild bergamot
The planner designed this bed around wild bergamot 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 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why wild bergamot stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Wild bergamot × 3, lavender
- 2 Blue moor grass × 7, purple
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 22, pink
- 4 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 5, blue
- 5 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Coneflower 'Green Jewel' × 3, green
- 7 Schubert's allium × 2, pink
Why this plant
- The only lavender.
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 coneflower 'Green Jewel' (24 in): 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 8 weeks. From early July to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' and coneflower 'Green Jewel' in early July: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 42% of the planted ground. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 47% of the visual weight and the right half 53%. Low plants run along 100% of the front edge: sedum 'Lidakense' and blue moor grass.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 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 wild bergamot goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back 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.
More drought-tolerant than red bee balm, and a softer colour that blends anywhere. It gets mildew late in the season, so plant it behind something that hides its lower leaves.
- Meadows and prairie planting
- Pollinator gardens
- Dry, sunny borders
What to plant with wild bergamot
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for eight weeks, from early July.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same dry soil.
- Black-eyed Susan: in flower together for seven weeks, from mid July; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about wild bergamot
Does wild bergamot need sun or shade?
Wild bergamot 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 dry, sharply drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does wild bergamot grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does wild bergamot flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early July to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid July to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid July to late August |
| Zone 5 | Early July to late August |
| Zone 6 | Early July to late August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Late June to mid August |
| Zone 9 | Late 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 wild bergamot 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 wild bergamot 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 wild bergamot 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 wild bergamot?
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 wild bergamot spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by underground runners and can crowd its neighbours. Dig out the edges or divide every 2 to 3 years.
What flowers after wild bergamot?
Wild bergamot is over by late 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.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does wild bergamot look like in winter?
Wild bergamot 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 wild bergamot good for bees and butterflies?
Wild bergamot is visited by pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
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'
- Bee balm 'Raspberry Wine' Monarda 'Raspberry Wine'
- Eastern bee balm Monarda bradburiana
- Spotted bee balm Monarda punctata
In these guides
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- 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
Zone guides: Zone 3 · 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
- Back
- Flowers
- Early July to late August; globes; lavender
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Comes from
- Canada to North East Mexico
- Attracts
- Pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, 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.