The Buzz on Bee-Balm

Long an old garden favourite, bee-balm is finding new admirers. Urged on by ecologists and others worried about the bee decimation of recent years, Monarda didyma is being suggested as a way to assist in reversing the decline. It has even more to recommend it in the home garden.

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Basic Bee-Balm is also listed in catalogues under Bergamot and Oswego Tea. M. didyma is native to eastern North America from Quebec and Michigan south to Georgia in moist woodlands and along riverbanks. A sturdy perennial of the mint family, it bears scarlet blossoms on 3- to 4-foot stems over midsummer. And it is not only bees that it attracts: hummingbirds also flit to the brilliant blooms. North America’s native peoples also no less appreciated it. They brewed a tea from the leaves to relieve colic, flatulence, colds, fevers, stomachaches, nose bleeds, insomnia, and heart trouble while poulticed the foliage brought relief from headaches. Added to food, it induced sweating. Colonists to North America likewise used leaf tea to expel worms and gas. A notable number of cultivars have arisen from this and other native species. The old variety ‘Cambridge Scarlet’ was a standby in gardens for many years but more recently has been superseded by ‘Gardenview Scarlet.’ The hot pink ‘Marshall’s Delight’, a highly desirable hybrid developed by Agriculture Canada, is resistant to mildew, the curse of Bee-Balm and relatives everywhere.

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Hybrids have been developed by crossing with other native species, notably Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, with lavender blooms seemingly to predominate but also with white, pinkish, pale lilac, or even light red blossoms from north-central U.S. to southwestern Quebec, southwards. Consequently, an extended colour range – and vigour – is now available A Lemon Bergamot, Monarda citriodora, native to the U.S. Southwest, bears pinkish-purple blooms. According to the ever-entertaining Richters Herb & Vegetable Catalogue, the young foliage is strongly lemon scented and excellent in tea. The leaves are used by the Hopi Indians to flavour wild game. Bee-Balm, Monarda didyma, and its modern offspring are vigorous perennials in their preferred locations: rich, moist soil in full sun or light shade. They range from 75 to 120cm tall with a 45cm spread, rather upright in habit. Unless kept firmly in hand they will spread unchecked. Divide every second year, discarding the centre growth while retaining a modest section of the outer portions. One thing this magnificent plant will not forgive: locating in an excessively sheltered location. As with phlox and common lilac, it is prone to mildew. Resistant selections are available and are especially valuable in urban gardens where hot, humid conditions favour this virulent pathogen.

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