Eastern Bee Balm
Monarda bradburiana
Eastern bee balm is the earliest, most compact native bee balm, with lavender-pink, dark-speckled flowers and good mildew resistance. A tidy, drought-tolerant pollinator plant for sun or part shade. Like other bee balms, the aromatic leaves season food and brew into a tea.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 1–2 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- neutral, acidic
- Bloom
- June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- pink, purple
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~7 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing, rain garden
- Native states
- AL, AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MO, NE, OK, TN, TX
Related native plants
More Monarda species
- Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
- Lemon Bee Balm (Monarda citriodora)
- Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)
- Scarlet Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)
- Plains Beebalm (Monarda pectinata)