Monarda punctata

Monarda punctata: Spotted Cream Pagodas for Sandy Ground

Spotted Bee Balm looks like a tiered wedding cake decorated by a very confident polka-dot enthusiast. Stacked whorls of purple-spotted, creamy yellow flowers framed by pink and lavender bracts. ODD? YES. GORGEOUS? ALSO YES.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Monarda punctata
• Common Name: Spotted Bee Balm, Horsemint
• Height: 30–90 cm (1–3 ft)
• Spread: 30–60 cm (1–2 ft)
• Flowers: Creamy pale yellow with purple spots, in stacked whorls set off by showy pink, lavender or cream bracts
• Bloom Time: Early to midsummer (June to July)
• Foliage: Narrow, aromatic, medium green leaves on purplish square stems
• Features: Rabbit resistant

Where to Plant: Spotted bee balm is made for dry, sunny places: sandy beds, gravel gardens, slopes, meadows and pollinator plantings. Put some near a path, where the tiered flowers can be seen up close.

Companion Plants: Give spotted bee balm a sunny or part-shade bed with lean soil, white anemones and golden oxeye. Anemone canadensis carpets the ground with white flowers at 30 to 60 cm from May to July. Pycnanthemum virginianum adds white mountain mint at 60 to 90 cm from July to September. Heliopsis helianthoides brings golden oxeye sunflowers at 90 to 150 cm from June to September. Miscanthus 'Zebrinus' rises behind at 180 to 210 cm with gold-banded blades.

Plant Care: Plant it in full sun to part sun, in well-drained sandy or gravelly soil. It does not like rich, wet ground. Water through the first few weeks, then mostly leave it alone. It tolerates drought well. It is a short-lived perennial, often lasting only a few years, but it self-seeds in open ground. Leave some seed heads in fall and let seedlings carry on the patch. Cut old stems down in early spring. Good air circulation helps; mildew is less of a problem than on many bee balms, though rust can appear.

History: Spotted bee balm grows wild on sandy prairies, savannas, dunes and dry fields across eastern North America, from Quebec and southern Ontario south to Florida and west to Minnesota and New Mexico. It is rich in aromatic thymol and was once a home remedy for people and horses, which gave it the name horsemint.

Final Thoughts: A drought tolerant native that feeds native bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Plant it where people will stop and ask questions. LET THEM WONDER.