Bee Balm 'Gardenview Scarlet' (Monarda)

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Botanical name: Monarda • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: Scarlet red • Host plant (elsewhere in North America): Pyrausta generosa, Pyrausta signatalis, Sphinx eremitus

Shaggy crowns of pure scarlet on square stems, with aromatic foliage that smells of oregano and citrus. Red is the color hummingbirds are tuned to, and the tubular florets are shaped for their bills, which makes this one of the strongest hummingbird attractors. It also draws bumblebees by day and hawk moths at dusk.

Botanical name: Monarda • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: Scarlet red • Host plant (elsewhere in North America): Pyrausta generosa, Pyrausta signatalis, Sphinx eremitus

Shaggy crowns of pure scarlet on square stems, with aromatic foliage that smells of oregano and citrus. Red is the color hummingbirds are tuned to, and the tubular florets are shaped for their bills, which makes this one of the strongest hummingbird attractors. It also draws bumblebees by day and hawk moths at dusk.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Monarda

Cultivar: 'Gardenview Scarlet'

Common Name: Bee Balm

Native: Cultivar

Sun: Full Sun to Part Sun

Water: Moderate

Bloom Time: Summer

Bloom Color: Scarlet red

Pollinators: Bees; Butterflies; Hummingbirds; Moths

Deer Resistant: Yes

Mature Size: W 2'-3' x H 2.5'-4'

Soil: Moist, well-drained; give air circulation to limit powdery mildew

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 4 to 9

Spread Habit: Spreads by rhizome

Available As: Live plant

Native Region: Eastern N.A.

Host Plant (Elsewhere in North America): Pyrausta generosa, Pyrausta signatalis, Sphinx eremitus

Growing Notes

Full sun to part sun in moist, well-drained soil. This plant prefers drip watering at the base over overhead watering. Monarda likes to have space, so give it about 24” between it and other plants.

  • Water: Moderate

  • Sun: Full Sun to Part Sun

  • Soil: Moist, well-drained

  • Mature size: W 2'-3' x H 2.5'-4'

Maintenance

Thin the stems in spring, removing perhaps a third of them, to open the clump and reduce mildew pressure. Leave stems standing through winter and cut back in late spring, keeping about a third. It spreads by rhizome and the center dies out over time, so lift and divide every three years, replanting the vigorous outer sections and discarding the middle.