(Beebalm, Horsemint)

Pretty flowers and a long history of herbal medicinal uses have made Monarda garden favorites. There are approximately 18 species that make up the genus. These herbaceous mints are commonly called beebalms or horsemints and may be annuals or perennials. All are native to North America with a few extending down into Mexico. The name Monarda honors Monardes, a Spanish botanist who wrote a book in the 1500s which describes many New World plants.

Monarda either forms...

(Adam Beebalm, Hybrid Beebalm)

The deep red-flowered 'Adam' is a tough and pretty Monarda for the sunny summer garden.

This tall hybrid cultivar has deep green leaves. In summer it produces many radial clusters of showy red flowers that stand tall atop strong upright stems. These draw hummingbirds and butterflies alike. The flowers are highly fragrant as is the foliage. Monarda leaves have a pungent smell that’s undesirable to browsing pests, like deer.

This Monarda prefers full sun and requires...

(Beauty of Cobham Beebalm, Hybrid Beebalm)

Its purple-tinged leaves, pale lavender-pink flowers, and purple-pink floral bracts distinguish 'Beauty of Cobham' from other beebalms. But – like them – it makes a pretty perennial for full or part sun.

In summer this hybrid Monarda produces fragrant tubular flowers in frilly starburst heads that stand tall atop strong upright stems. Beneath them is a ruff of colorful bracts. The flowers draw hummingbirds and butterflies alike. The paired narrowly oval leaves have a pungent scent that’s...

(Hybrid Beebalm)

The popular violet-pink flowered 'Blaustrumpf', or 'Blue Stocking', is a tall German introduction that is not as blue as its name would suggest. Still, is it a lovely vigorous perennial Monarda, that adds good color to sunny summer borders.

This tall hybrid cultivar has crisp deep green leaves. In summer it produces many radial clusters of showy bright violet-pink flowers that stand tall atop strong upright stems. These draw hummingbirds and butterflies alike. The flowers are highly fragrant...

(Lemon Beebalm)

The fragrant foliage and showy tiered flowers of lemon beebalm are a real knockout in the summer garden. This upright "annual" may survive as a short-lived perennial for two to three years. It inhabits sandy, rocky soils across the southwestern United States. Unlike many other Monarda, this species does not spread via rhizomes but maintains a neat, upright clump.

Lemon beebalm has narrow green leaves with sparse teeth along the edges. The foliage and stems have a strong lemon spiked...

(Lemon Beebalm)

The fragrant foliage and showy tiered flowers of lemon beebalm are a real knockout in the summer garden. This upright annual may survive as a short-lived perennial for one to two years. The subspecies austromontana inhabits sandy, rocky streamside soils in the uplands of New Mexico and Utah. It is clump-forming, upright and does not spread by rhizomes, unlike other Monarda.

Lemon beebalm has narrow green leaves with sparse teeth along the edges. The foliage and stems have a...

(Bee's Favorite Lemon Beebalm, Lemon Beebalm)

The fragrant foliage and showy tiered flowers of ‘Bee's Favorite’ are a real knockout in the summer garden. This upright annual may survive as a short-lived perennial for one to two years. The subspecies austromontana inhabits sandy, rocky streamside soils in the uplands of New Mexico and Utah, in the southwestern United States. It is clump-forming, upright and does not spread by rhizomes, unlike other Monarda.

Lemon beebalm has narrow green leaves with sparse teeth along the...

(Basil Beebalm, White Bergamot)

Delicate when in bloom, white bergamot tops its stems in early summer with tubular white to pink-lavender blossoms. This rangy, upright herbaceous perennial inhabits fertile, moist soils across the central and northeastern United States. If in a rich, moist soil, this species spreads indefinitely.

White bergamot has tapering oval green leaves with hairs along the edges. Both foliage and stems are thinly hairy, and stems and leaf veins often are a purplish green. In early summer, long, tiered...

(Coral Reef Beebalm, Hybrid Beebalm)

Pretty flowers and a long history of herbal medicinal uses have made Monarda garden favorites. There are approximately 18 species that make up the genus. These herbaceous mints are commonly called beebalms or horsemints and may be annuals or perennials. All are native to North America with a few extending down into Mexico. The name Monarda honors Monardes, a Spanish botanist who wrote a book in the 1500s which describes many New World plants.

Monarda either forms...

(Oswego Tea, Red Bergamot, Scarlet Beebalm)

Distinctive bright red flower clusters glow on the tall stems of scarlet beebalm in summer. This classic eastern North American wildflower is naturally distributed across old-fields, meadows, open woods and prairies, particularly those along the Alleghany Mountains. It has been a longtime garden favorite due to its beautiful blooms, pleasant fragrance and herbal qualities. Two more of its common names are Oswego tea and wild bergamot, names pointing to the fact its leaves make a refreshing tea likened...