Meet the Monardas… the crowning glory of the mint plant family (Lamiaceae)! The bee balm uses and benefits are many, both for you and your garden. When it comes to beebalm, there are numerous colors available for adding visual delight as well as edible and medicinal benefit.
Bee balm (Monarda species) is an herbaceous perennial native to North America. It grows wild in drifts along roadsides, in meadows, and along woodland edges. Last count, there were twenty-one different species and all Monarda are endemic to North America. [1]https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=mofi
Bee Balm Plant Information
Bee Balm Scientific Name
- Scientific name: Monarda
- Family: Lamiaceae (mint family)
Bee Balm Common Names
- Bear Mint
- Bee balm
- Beebalm
- Bergamot
- Golden Melissa
- Horsemint
- Indian Nettle
- Oswego tea
- Wild Bergamot
Growing Bee Balm
- Type: Herbaceous perennial
- Family: Lamiaceae
- Native Range: North America
- Zones: 3 to 9
- Height: 2.00 to 4.00 feet
- Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
- Bloom Time: June to September
- Bloom Description: Pink/lavender/scarlet/purple
- Sun: Full sun to partial shade
- Water: Dry to medium
- Maintenance: Medium
- Suggested Use: Herb, naturalize, rain garden, butterfly garden, pollinator garden, perennial border/garden
- Flower: Showy, mild fragrance, good as edible flowers, cut flowers, good dried flowers
- Leaf: Fragrant
- Attracts: Hummingbirds, butterflies, bees
- Tolerates: Drought, deer, clay soil, rocky soil, dry soil, shallow-rocky soil, black walnut [2]https://www.almanac.com/plant/bee-balm
Reference: OutsidePride.com[3]https://www.outsidepride.com/resources/ebooks/butterfly-gardening.html
Native of North America
A true American, Bee balm is an herbaceous perennial native to North America growing wild in drifts along roadsides, in meadows, and along woodland edges. Last count, there were twenty-one different species of these plants in the Monarda Lamiaceae family.
This lovely plant, loved by bees and butterflies alike, is named after the Spanish botanist Nicolás Monarda, who wrote a book in 1574 describing plants of the New World.[4]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarda
Bee Balm History
Common names indicate a long and colorful history. Though called “wild bergamot”, bee balm is NOT an ingredient for Earl Grey tea. Earl Grey tea is flavored with the rind of citrus bergamia, the bergamot orange. [5]https://www.almanac.com/plant/bee-balm
Early pilgrims, such as the east coast Shakers and native American Indians, such as the Oneida Indians used is as an herbal remedies for colds and flu, as well as sore throats and cold sores. The Monarda plants are often used in the same way today.
The Oswego Native Americans from what is now the Oswego County area of upstate New York, would brew a tea out of the leaves of the bee balm plant. The Oswego Indians used the “wild bergamot” for medicine, sweat lodge ceremonies, and hair pomade. [6]https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=MODI
The Oswegos taught New England colonists how to use bee balm for tea, which they dubbed “Oswego Tea”. This American-grown “tea” substituted for English tea after the destruction of tea shipments at the Boston Tea Party. [7]https://blog.gardeningknowhow.com/tbt/history-bee-balm/
The Perennial Bee Balm
For the landscape gardener, bee balm is one of the best perennial yard and garden plants for Zones 3-9 for its beauty and benefit to the garden ecosystem.[8]https://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/perennial/bee-balm/ It deserves placement in butterfly gardens, perennial borders, rain gardens, pollinator gardens, and wild (native) landscapes.
Bee balm flowers are eye candy for the garden.
Monarda Plants Attracts Pollinators
From late spring to late summer, pollinators are attracted to varieties of bee balm bloom in a range of colors–red, pink, lavender, purple and white. We’re growing the scarlet bee balm, Monarda didyma and the purple Monarda fistulosa here in our Zone 7a landscape. They’re growing quite well planted under partial shade in rich, well-drained soil.
When crowned with brilliant flowers, bee balm attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds for weeks into the summer.
The blossoms of bee balm are a pollinator magnet for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Ruby Throated Hummingbird at Bee Balm – Scarlet Monarda didyma
Bee Balm Uses
Bee balm delights the senses in many ways. Some species of bee balm emit a light minty fragrance. The tea, made from petals and leaves, is refreshing and aromatic. The petals have a subtle, layered flavor and make an excellent salad garnish.
Bee Balm Name
Some say it’s called bee balm because the bees love the flowers. Others, because the leaves make a good poultice for bee stings. Likely there’s truth to both. While we haven’t yet tried it for bee stings, it is a powerful anti-inflammatory, and we can definitely attest to how much the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds love bee balm.
Plant Uses
- Companion plant for tomatoes
- Attracts pollinators
- Beekeepers plant it for beehives
- Flowers and leaves for food and medicine
- Of the species examined in one study, M. didyma contained the highest concentration of oil.[9]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarda[10]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarda#cite_note-7[11]