Monarda Sugar Buzz® 'Pink Frosting'

Monarda Sugar Buzz® 'Pink Frosting': Pastel Pink Bee Balm in a Short Stack

'Pink Frosting' spreads a pastel pink carpet of blooms over a short, minty mound, like somebody iced the front of your border. The hummingbirds have their forks out. SPRINKLES WERE CONSIDERED. THEY WERE DECLINED.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Monarda hybrid
• Common Name: Bee Balm
• Series: Sugar Buzz®, from Walters Gardens
• Height: 35–40 cm (14–16 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Pastel pink, about 5–6 cm (2–2.5 in) across, forming a carpet of bloom
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to late summer (July to August)
• Foliage: Dark green, mint-scented when crushed, with above-average resistance to powdery mildew
• Features: Fragrant flowers and foliage, good cut flower

Where to Plant: Its short height makes it a natural for the front of a border, edging a path, or a container on a sunny balcony. Mass it for a soft pink ribbon in midsummer. It also suits cottage gardens and rain gardens.

Companion Plants: Give 'Pink Frosting' a sunny or part-shade bed with scarlet peonies, a dark cranesbill and orange daylilies. Paeonia 'Flame' opens single scarlet peonies at 55 to 60 cm in May and June. Geranium 'Boom Chocolatta' adds dark leaves and blue flowers at 61 to 66 cm from June to August. Hemerocallis 'Cool It' brings orange daylilies at 65 to 80 cm in July and August. Pennisetum 'Moudry' arches at 75 to 90 cm with dark, almost black plumes.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun in average to fertile, evenly moist, well-drained soil. It prefers neutral to slightly alkaline soil. Full sun brings the heaviest bloom. Water at the base in dry weather so the plant stays unstressed and clean. Deadhead to tidy it up. Cut stems to the ground in late fall or early spring. It spreads slowly by shallow runners. Divide every few years in early spring if it gets crowded.

History: 'Pink Frosting' was bred by Hans Hansen at Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan, from seed collected in 2009 from the bee balm 'Petite Delight'. It was first selected in 2011.

Final Thoughts: Perfect at the front of the bed or in a party-sized pot, and the deer won't touch it. CUT YOURSELF A SLICE.