Monarda fistulosa (Wild beebalm / bergamot)

Wild beebalm, or wild bergamot, is a mint family member. This plant occurs naturally in dry to moist meadows and thickets, but grows and flowers well in part sun as well, such as a forest edge or open meadow. The plant spreads by rhizomes to form a colony of plants, spreading by as much as a foot or two in a single year. 

 

Monarda isn't deep rooted, allowing it to spread around other taller growing and deeper rooted plants. Consider companions such as little bluestem, heliopsis helianthoides (early sunflower), Rudbeckia hirta, Switchgrass, Euthamia caroliniana, Silphium asteriscus, stiff goldenrod, and rattlesnake master. But so long as the plant is 3+ feet in height, Monarda fistulosa goes well with almost any native plant or grass.

 

Its nickname of 'wild bergamot' refers to the peppery / citrusy scent of the leaves reminiscent of the unrelated bergamot orange fruit, which is used to flavor earl gray tea. Monarda fistulosa is not used for making traditional earl gray, but can be used fresh or dried to make a minty herbal tea on its own.

 

Wild beebalm is truly a balm for long-tongued bees, predatory wasps, butterflies and moths such as hummingbird moths. Hummingbirds also visit the tubular pink, lavender, and purple flowers in summertime. Monarda species support several rare and uncommon specialist pollinator bees, which can only survive by visiting the flowers of this genus and a select few other species to feed.

 

Seed-grown species of Monarda can be quite variable, allowing for a colony of plants to have a diversity of bloom colors and flowering ranges. The beebalm species are susceptible to powdery mildew on their leaves late in the season, often after flowering is completed. This white fungus is naturally occuring and doesn't harm the plant, but can look untidy to some gardeners, who may cut the plant back close to the ground. 

 

Monarda have hollow stems which are used by some solitary bees for overwintering their young, so consider leaving the stems up late in the season. Birds such as goldfinches will also pick over the small sand-sized seeds from the flowerheads in fall and winter.