Marvelous Monarda

This article is part of a series for 2021 of award winning plants from a variety of organizations.

​Hands down Monarda is one of my favorite flowers in both my buffer zone and in my perennial flower beds.  What is not to love?  It comes back year after year despite our harsh winters.  The pollinators love Monarda – not just bees and butterflies, I have witnessed hummingbirds fighting over Monarda blossoms.  The blossoms are bright, unique and last a long time!

This year Monarda is one of the 2021 National Garden Bureau’s featured plants, and a great choice for your garden too!
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​ A Native Species, Monarda has a long medicinal herbal history that Native tribes taught early settlers to utilize. Bee Balm, Monarda’s common name, I am certain came to be due to its ability soothe bee stings, other medicinal uses included treating chills and fever all information shared with early settlers from Native Americans.  

Monarda Species as described below is from the National Garden Bureau website:  www.ngb.org:

• Monarda punctacta, aka Horsemint or Dotted Mint, is somewhat of an unruly native prairie plant characterized by tall unbranched stems topped with rounded clusters of pink or lavender tubular flowers.  The stacked combination of speckled flowers and colorful bracts make this distinctive and unusual.
• Monarda fistulosa, or wild Bergamot, is one of the species commonly used for medicinal purposes.  Being highly aromatic with showy lavender-pink flowers, it is also used as a honey plant.
• Monarda didyma (Scarlet Bee Balm) has long been cherished for not only use for tea but also its ornamental value.  The bright scarlet/red flowers of M. didyma are still a part of many ongoing breeding programs with Monarda.

It has been a long road from these native species of Monarda to the prized ornamental cultivars available today.  Some of the first hybrids of M. didyma x M. fistulosa produced vibrant flower colors with a more well-behaved plant, but they continued to be plagued by their native attributes of being highly susceptible to mildew, somewhat tall and leggy and had a tendency to spread by rhizomes.

New Varieties include:

• Marshall’s Delight -  Received Award of Merit from Royal Horticultural Society.
• Gardenview Scarlet – Selected by the Chicago Botanic Garden as an outstanding perennial for the Midwest.
• Petite Delight – The first of its kind dwarf introduction of monarda at just 12 – 15 inches tall.

I have found Monarda to be one of the easiest to grow in both my buffer zone and perennial flower bed with minimal care and upkeep.  They prefer full sun and are drought tolerant once established. Deadheading encourages additional flowers and spreads the plant out a bit.  Since they are susceptible to powdery mildew, it is important to remove all diseased foliage in the fall. 

Generally speaking neither the deer nor the rabbits seem to bother with Monarda….but there is always that ONE (Peter Rabbit comes to mind) that will be the exception.

I hope you have a sunny spot to add this beautiful and unique pollinator to your collection.  Happy gardening.
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Author:  Jill Fries, UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteer