One of the few 'invasives' worth it! I gave huge clumps
to a young gal who was looking for prairie plants for the
rest of their 3 acre plot. I cant wait to see her 'sea of
red' when these babies bloom.

I just love the smell of this plant. I just divided mine and moved some of it to a sunnier area. the fragrance when I cut thru the roots was so beautiful

Received M. 'Cambridge Scarlet' through a trade and am looking forward to growing them on. Thanks for the tip concerning retaining moisture.

What other colors do these come in ? I have dark pink,purple is that it Love it too.

Well I have white,2 shades of pink,,2 shades of red and 2 shades of purple.I'm sure there is more if you look for it.
Dirtpig

Dirt pig where did you come up with that name thats cute. I didnt know it came in so many colors.I bet white is pretty. I have deep pink and purple. I too like the smell. love all the bees and butterflies it draws.

Love Bee Balm. I'm working at establishing a bed across my front living room windows so the hummingbirds and butterflies will be right there to watch. So far, so good.
Is it the source of the essential oil Bergamot? Does anybody know?

Dianna

BUTTER FLYS LIKE IT

I have red and purple. Those two colors together look great!

I have just purchased 6 bee balm plants. Is October too late to place them in the yard, or would you suggest me putting them in containers till spring time?

Garden thug in my yard. Started with three 2" pots... have been digging it out ever since and it won't go away!!!

Holly

oil of bergamot is produced from a citrus fruit, the bergamot orange. Citrus bergamia is the scientific name. it's a small spiny tree. distillation produces the essential oil. enjoy.

oil of bergamot is produced from a citrus fruit, the bergamot orange. Citrus bergamia is the scientific name. it's a small spiny tree. distillation produces the essential oil. enjoy.

bought 2 in 2001 and they were flowering. But last year I moved them to a less sunny area and they DID NOT BLOOM AT ALL? Anybody know why?

Thanks

Jessie

Will this grow in AZ?

If you can water them they will grow in Az.

I love bee balm. Marshalls Delight is a wonderful clear pink and it's somewhat mildew resistant. However, my bee balm usually grows for a few years and then dies out. What am I doing wrong??

Diann
Iowa Z5a

Have you ever tried Lambada variety? It is a dream as a cut flower. I grow it as an annual.

loved the ones in bloom at the nursery where I bought mine, bought one and since i put it in the ground the leaves have turned purple/red and it has only produced one bloom, all the lower leaves have fallen off and the rest just droop. I have tried not watering but it looks no better after days of no rain/water than it does after steady watering. have it in partial sun as the tag suggested....what could I be doing wrong?

I planted a Marshalls Delight in May 2001. It grew to over 5 feet tall. Got very full and bloomed profusely. It was my first bee balm, and I was hooked. In the spring of 2002 only a 1/2 dozen or so little sprigs came up, then disappeard. This year, it came back and looks just like it did it's first year. What was that all about?

In the spring of 2002, I planted a Petite Delight in another bed, full sun. It just sat there, had one flower and a serious case of mildew. This year, it has grown into a very tight, stiff mound about 2 ft wide and 10 inches tall. So far, no mildew.
It is covered in buds just starting to show color. I can't resist touching it as I go by. First for the wonderful smell it releases on my hands and second for the way a very light brushing with my hand causes the whole thing to wiggle like a bowl of jello

When in bloom .I can't think of a better hummingbird plant.

I went to 3 nurserys looking for this stuff & then called a few more from home. No one seems to have it or even know what I am talking about.(One nursery man told me they had it & when I got there, it was a hand lotion he was talking about.) Ha! Does anyone know if it does well (or not)in S. Calif. (??) I am in zone 10 I think.

There seem to be conflicting reports on just how invasive Bee Balm is. How often do you have to perform maintenance to keep them from getting out of control? I just planted three (Jacob Cline, Marshall's Delight, and Petite Delight) in a mixed perennial bed. I absolutely love them, but I'd rather take them out now if they're going to overrun my other plants and/or lawn. Any advice?

My Bee Balm/Monarda 'Cambridge Scarlett' has become very invasive. I find I have to dig it up twice during the spring/summer. It is a beautiful, long lasting flower but you need to keep it under control or else it will take over all of your garden and kill the other plants.

Jenne

I love BeeBalm, but I didn't know it came in all those colors, Where can I get plants or seeds of the different colors? I would pay postage :) , Lafay

It's also known as monarda, bergamont and oswaga (I think sp?) tea. Perhaps the nurseries know those names?

I'm making more room for Monarda - up closer to my deck! A hummingbird has been visiting my yard daily to sample these blooms! The Monarda started about the time the coral bells finished. Priceless!

I have a very tall red variety which sometimes produces double blooms (one on top of the other). The more sun, the taller it gets. Some stalks are about 5' 7"
Although it multipiles fast, beebalm is very easy to divide (as easy as hosta!) and my friends are all happy when I give them some.
A couple of days ago, I saw a hummingbird flitting among the blooms. It made me happy.
Isn't that why we grow flowers?

My bee balm is now all dry and ugly looking.
Does anyone know if I can cut it back now
or what should I do with it?

Hi! Cut back. Dead heading as the flowers fade promotes new blooms. Later if it's ugly, I cut it back. Cut it down to the ground in the fall. Russ.

As far as I know, you can't kill beebalm. Cut it back whenever you like, as far as you like. Even powdery mildew doesn't kill it -- at least it's never killed mine.
NEXT YEAR I'm going to try the vinegar solution method I read about on Garden Web.
I eliminated most of the slugs from my hosta; surely I can handle PM on beebalm.

I also have bee balm that doesn't bloom. It came from my daughter-in-law that couldn't get it to bloom either. It is two years old and since we both have tried, has been in two different locations. Any ideas??

Anyone tried the dwarf bee balm? The tag said it gets 18". I have the taller ones but last week I bought 2 of the dwarts & planted in front of the talls. Just wondering if it does as well as the tall? Betty

I love this plant. This is the first year I have it in my garden and it is wonderful! I got a couple of small plants from the Spring MAG, and both have taken off. I especially love the fragrance, and the unusual flowers.

Mine Bee balm appears to have 'Mildew' its a newly planted potted plant, what can I do? Cut it down?
Thanks Rae Ann

I have several clumps of various bee balms that have returned this year in the mid atlantic, bloomed nicely, and then died. I am not sure why. Everything about them turned completely brown, dried up and died.

Any ideas of what is causing this?

Hi,
I'm new to garden webb and I have a question.
Is this flower bee balm. I have seen bee balm years ago but it was red. This is a beautiful blue.
[URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2269/img0210ka9.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Sorry,I am having trouble linking the pic!

Chief, your pic of the blue flower is bachelors button, also called mountain bluet (Centaurea montana). They sure are similar in their spikiness!

Pam,
Thanks for the post. It is a single plant, I will have to save the seeds.

Actually it spreads quite well, and transplants very easily! I have moved mine 3 times now and even if i think i've completely dug it up, there remains some and I get a new plant the following year! Forget the seeds, just make new plants from division, it's almost like a weed ;)

Thanks again, for the tip.

My bee balm get riddled with black and white eggs that hatch into lava that crawl into the tubes and devour the flowerette so there are no blooms. Is there anything ou reccomend I can treat my balm with so I dont have to painstakingly pick them off daily by hand.

I'm having the same problem as sallyos. Anybody know what these eggs may be? I did find an earwig on the plant recently. Could it be earwig eggs? Thanks for any help.

I have the tall type ...do you dead head them and will they grow back all summer long? Mine look kinda sad right now
thanks

There's been a lot of discussion about the invasiveness of Bee Balm. Would it be possible to plant the Bee Balm in a pot in the ground like you can with other mints to control the invasion?

I planted Bee Balm in Spring 1986. Not sure which type. I still have a clump in spite much of neglect and abuse. Mine don't rebloom even when deadheaded. But they're immortal.
No hummingbirds, just an occasional hummingbird-moth and many bumblebees.

Bee balm is really beautiful flower and it is really useful..i have one in my backyard and sometime i always sit and watch and think while i am looking to it..it feels relaxing when you see a beautiful flowers like that..how ever it is not like rose or any flower but for me it is really amazing

Hm, I've grown bee balm in the past, but now I have a problem that I've never experienced.

I bought plants from a plant store, instead of growing my own from seed. They were doing splendidly until today. It's about 90 degrees, and I last watered heavily last evening. They're also heavily mulched. But today they dropped every petal from every flower.

What's going on? Are the plants dead? Will they grow new blooms if I deadhead? I've never had this happen before. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Is there such a bee balm that doesn't attract pollinators? Because I love the bumblebees, and I'm afraid to pick out a bee balm that didn't attract them.