Monarda fistulosa
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Tried and True Recommended by 3 Professionals
Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: wild bergamot
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Lamiaceae
Zone: 3 to 9
Native Range: Canada, United States, Mexico
Garden Location: Kemper Center Landscape, Lucy and Stanley Lopata Prairie Garden
Height: 2 to 4 feet
Spread: 2 to 3 feet
Bloom Time: July to September
Bloom Color: Pink, Lavender
Bloom Description: Pink/lavender
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flowers: Showy Flowers, Fragrant Flowers
Leaves: Fragrant
Wildlife: Attracts Hummingbirds, Attracts Butterflies
Tolerates: Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Shallow, Rocky Soil, Drought, Black Walnuts, Deer
Uses: Culinary Herb, Cut Flower, Dried Flower, Rain Garden, Will Naturalize

Culture

Best grown in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Tolerates somewhat poor soils and some drought. Plants need good air circulation. Deadhead flowers to prolong summer bloom. Tends to self-seed.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Wild bergamot is a common Missouri native perennial which occurs statewide in dryish soils on prairies, dry rocky woods and glade margins, unplanted fields and along roads and railroads. A clump-forming, mint family member that grows typically to 2-4' tall. Lavender, two-lipped, tubular flowers appear in dense, globular, solitary, terminal heads atop square stems. Each flower head is subtended by (rests upon) a whorl of showy, pinkish, leafy bracts. Flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies. The toothed, aromatic, oblong, grayish-green leaves (to 4") may be used in teas. Long summer bloom period.

Problems

Powdery mildew can be a significant problem with the monardas, particularly in crowded gardens with poor air circulation. This species has good mildew resistance, however. Rust can also be a problem.

Garden Uses

Provides color and contrast for the herb garden, wild garden, native plant garden, meadow or naturalized area. May be used in the perennial border, but is simply a less colorful selection than the similar-in-appearance Monarda didyma and its many cultivars (the beebalms).

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