A dry description follows...A beautiful, bright red flower that grows in dense clusters along spring banks, flowering from July to late August. It is a member of the mint family and grows 3 to 4 feet tall.
But it is labour lost to describe it's every petal and stipule. The pictures within the article should serve this purpose. If you hover your mouse over the picture, you will find the full latin name of the plant in question.
How to grow
Monarda grows best in soil that stays moist at all times of year but is well-drained (not boggy). The meadows it grows wild in comprise moist woods and scrub. The plant is not suitable for chalky (alkaline or limestone-based) soils, preferring neutral to slightly acidic soils. It does best in the sun but is adaptable to shade as long as the soil remains damp.
In the fall the plant will benefit from the addition of bone meal or rock phosphate.
Something that Beebalm is effected by is Powdery Mildew, and this can become especially bad in dry shade. If you are having trouble keeping mildew off these plants, water them better, use some of the advice in The Fungus Among Us an article from Suite101.com Northern Gardening, or try one of the more mildew-resistant varieties. Cambridge Scarlet came out many years ago and resisted powdery mildew to some extent. This has now been replaced by the improved variety Gardenview Scarlet. Both will attain mildew in less-than-ideal circumstances.
Please don't let this turn you off, because ideal circumstances are easy to attain in most climates. If you have stands of Physostegia, Stokesia or Campanulas, you will find these grow well for you. Another good indicator is successful daylilies in the sun, with little browning at the tips of leaves.
I have found (for whatever reason) that they grow well with strawberries. The soil and sun conditions are right, and the bees attracted by your Monarda will help to pollinate berry, squash and tomato flowers.
In fact, growing aromatic and bee-attracting plants in the vegetable garden help it on many counts.
Once the plants have bloomed they may be cut back for a second blooming period.
Some monardas have the propensity to 'stack up, meaning that out of the centre of one flower head pops another like a beebalm apartment block. Any Monarda didyma hybrid can do this, but some are more likely than others. See the hybrid list below for more details.
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