Also called bergamot, bee balm, horsemint, and oswego tea, Monarda is a genus of annuals and herbaceous perennials belonging to the deadnettle family, Lamiaceae, that also includes mint, lavender and sage. Plants grow 8-60″ tall and have stems that are square in cross section and carry lanceolate leaves 2.8-5.5″ long with toothed margins. The red, pink, pale yellow or light purple flowers are borne in terminal head-like clusters and are tubular with a narrow upper lip and a wider lower lip. The flowers attract hummingbirds and pollinating insects but the plants tend to develop powdery mildew in high humidity. They thrive in moist, well-drained soil in sun but tolerate partial shade.
The genus name, Monarda, honors Nicholas Monardes (1493-1588), physician and botanist of Seville, Spain.
Photo Credit: Hardyplants, Wikimedia Commons
The environmental conditions of the Southeast have resulted in at least eight native species of Monarda there although they may be native to other places too. All of the Monardas described here are native to at least one of the state in the Southeast.
Eastern Beebalm (Monarda bradburiana)
The gray-green aromatic leaves are up to 4″ long and form a neat mound. The flowers are carried in globular terminal clusters 2-3″ across and are attractive to humming birds, butterflies and other pollinators, including bumble bees.
Alternate Name/s: Wild bergamot, horsemint
Native Range: Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee as well as areas of the Midwest and Southwest
Habitat: Open areas such as woodland borders, savannahs, grasslands, meadows and thickets.
Type: Perennial
Height: 1-2′
Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer
Bloom Color: White or pink speckled with purple
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Average, dry to medium moist, well-drained; tolerates lean soil and some drought
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-8
Photo Credit: peganum, Wikimedia Commons
Lemon Beebalm (Monarda citriodora)
A stout stem bears aromatic, narrow, toothed green leaves up to 3″ long, and 2-6 interrupted clusters of lavender to pink or white flowerheads from late spring to summer. The flowers are attractive to humming birds, butterflies and other pollinators including bumblebees.
Alternate Name/s: Lemon mint, purple horsemint
Native Range: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky as well as parts of the Midwest, Southwest, Rocky Mountain area, and Pacific Coast.
Habitat: Prairies, pastures, meadows, savannahs, open limestone areas, rocky slopes, hills
Type: Annual or biennial
Height: 1-2.5′
Bloom Time: Late spring through summer
Bloom Color: Lavender to pink or white
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Average, dry to medium moist, well-drained; alkaline
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2-11
Photo Credit: Michael Wolf, Wikimedia Commons
White Bergamot (Monarda clinopedia)
The edible green leaves are oval, shallowly toothed, and 3-6″ long. The mildly fragrant flowers are carried in 2″ wide terminal clusters, and are white to creamy white with purple spots, and attractive to birds, butterflies and other pollinators including bumble bees.
Alternate Name/s: Basil bee balm or white bee balm
Native Range: Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama as well as parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest
Habitat: Moist woods, thickets, ravines, and stream-banks
Type: Perennial
Height: 3-6.7 ‘
Bloom Time: Mid spring to fall
Bloom Color: White or cream with purple spots
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: Average, medium moist, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-8
Photo Credit: Fritzflohrreynolds, Wikimedia Commons
Basil Beebalm (Monarda clinopodioides)
The oblong leaves taper at both ends and have toothed margins and hairy undersides. Clusters of white or pink flowers speckled with purple appear in the axils of the upper leaves from late spring into fall. The flowers are of special value to bumble bees.
Alternate Name/s: None
Native Range: Louisiana as well as parts of the Southwest and Midwest.
Habitat: Prairies, pastures, meadows, fields, and woodland edges
Type: Annual
Height: 8-12″
Bloom Time: Late spring into fall
Bloom Color: White, pink with purple spots
Light: Full sun
Soil: Sandy, dry to medium moist, well-drained
USDA Hardiness Zones: Not Relevant
Photo Credit: Megan Cassidy, Wikimedia Commons
Scarlet Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)
The coarse green leaves are 3-6″ long, ovate to lance shaped with serrated margins, and have reddish veins and hairy undersides. In early to late summer, bright red flowers appear in dense rounded terminal clusters of about 30 subtended by a whorl or red-tinged leafy bracts. The clusters are 3-4″ across and attract humming birds, butterflies, and other pollinators including bumble bees.
Alternate Name/s: Oswego tea, bergamot, crimson bee balm, Eau-de-Cologne plant
Native Range: Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama as well as areas in the Pacific Coast, Midwest, Mid Atlantic, and New England
Habitat: Moist woods, thickets, bottomlands and along stream banks
Type: Perennial
Height: 2-4′
Bloom Time: Summer
Bloom Color: Bright red
Light: Full sun; tolerates some shade
Soil: Fertile humusy, medium moist to wet, well-drained; does not tolerate drying out
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9
Photo Credit: NellsWiki, Wikimedia Commons
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Oblong, grayish-green leaves are up to 4″ long. The pink to lavender flowers appear in dense, rounded terminal clusters subtended by a whorl of showy, pinkish, leafy bracts, and attract humming birds, butterflies, and other pollinators including bumble bees.
Alternate Name/s: Bee balm, eastern bergamot
Native Range: All the Southeast except Florida as well as all the rest of the US except California
Habitat: Prairies, fields, wet meadows, marshes, dry open woods, woodland margins
Type: Perennial
Height: 2-4′
Bloom Time: Summer
Bloom Color: Pink to lavender
Light :Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Fertile, dry to medium moist, well-drained; tolerates poor soil, drought and heat
USDA Hardiness Zones:3-9
Photo Credit: D. Garden E. Robertson, Wikimedia Commons
Purple Bergamot (Monarda media)
Silvery green leaves are lance-shaped, covered with fine hairs, and have serrated margins and a strong mint fragrance. Cluster of reddish-purple flowers subtended by purplish bracts appear from mid to late summer. The clusters are up to 2.5″ wide, fragrant, and attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators including bumble bees. The seeds are eaten by goldfinches.
Alternate Name/s: Horsemint
Native Range: Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama as well as parts of New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest.
Habitat: Swampy habitats, stream banks, thickets
Type: Perennial
Height: 2-3′
Bloom Time: Mid to late summer
Bloom Color: Reddish purple
Light: Full sun to light shade
Soil: Humusy, moist, occasionally wet, well-drained, acidic
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9
Photo Credit: Evan M. Raskin, Wikimedia Commons
Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)
The narrowly lanceolate leaves are 1-3″ long and have dentate margins and a Greek oregano fragrance. Clusters of pale yellow flowers spotted with purple appear in in the leaf axils and stem ends over a long bloom time starting in late spring to summer. Each cluster is subtended by light pink to white tinged leafy bracts which are more showy than the flowers. The flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators including bumble bees and beneficial wasps.
Alternate Name/s: Dotted beebalm, dotted horsemint
Native Range: All the Southeast except West Virginia as well as areas in the Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain area, Southwest, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England
Habitat: Prairies, pastures, meadows, savannas, sandy areas, rocky woodlands, and coastal plains.
Type: Perennial
Height: 1-5′
Bloom Time: Late spring to fall
Bloom Color: Pale yellow spotted with purple
Light: Full sun, part shade
Soil: Average, sandy, dry to medium moist, well-drained; tolerant of drought and poor soil
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-8
Photo Credit: Amber M. King, Wikimedia Commons
The Southeast includes Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida. Most of these states are characterized by hot, humid summers and cool to mild winters, with Florida’s tip being tropical. Summers are generally hot and humid throughout the entire region. Precipitation is abundant in the area and comes mostly in the form of rain.