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A potpourri of Monarda information (below) as a supplement to other articles.
A plant-based page rather than our usual topic-based page. It's a pivot point where you'll find one set of links to ours and others' articles that involve bee balm. (Go to those links now!)
Monarda are run-around devils we love for their flower, scent and the hummingbirds and butterflies the plants attract.
There are a number of Monarda species. Common names can be misleading, as two different species might be called bee balm, horsemint, Oswego tea or bergamot.
Monarda didyma (below) is the classic bee balm, with the truest red flowers. It also may be the most prone to mildew -- although the whole clan has a tendency to go white with this fungus problem in midsummer if the air does not move well in a garden or the plants are stressed by drought.
Design notes: Bloom time: What's Coming Up 63 Tolerates black walnut: Black walnut bed buddies in what's Coming Up 140, and Growing Concerns 91 Used in wet soil: Perennials for rain gardens
Maintenance: Corn borer damage: Corn borer eats flowers, too Dividing: What's Coming Up 38 Fall cut back: Fall perennial cuts Mildew: What's Coming Up 180
Miscellany: Bee plant: What's Coming Up 52 Invasiveness/Growth rate: Choosing perennials and Bad luck to say thanks and What's Coming Up 116 Threatened and endangered native species lists: Lists of at-risk plants
We're just introducing this set of perennial info pages. We hope you'll comment. Let us know if the format was useful, share your suggestions, tell us we shouldn't have this page at all... anything helps!
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