Monarda punctata
Size: 1g availability
Flower
Max size: 5’ tall x 2’ wide
Average size: 4′ tall x 2′ wide
Moist to Dry, Very Dry
Clay, Sand
Sun, Part Shade
Moderately tolerant of salt spray; not tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water
AKA: Dotted Horsemint, Eastern Horsemint
Beebalm can bloom May through October, and has interestingly shaped multi-colored flowers. It can be used in formal and informal gardens. If you want it to be bushier, and not risk getting leggy and falling over, you can trim it in early summer, stake it up, or surround it with upright, stiffer plants that can provide natural support. It’s a perennial, so it will return each year after going dormant for winter. It can be a prolific reseeder, and is drought resistant.
It is an excellent generalist pollinator plant that attracts hummingbirds, many varieties of native bees (especially sweat bees), wasps, and – since the flowers don’t close – night pollinators like moths, fireflies, beetles, and some butterflies. It is a host plant for numerous moths. The spent stems are useful for insects and birds. (1)
It contains thyme oil, and can be used as a substitute for thyme and oregano. (2) This oil also gives the plant itself a fragrant scent and some use the flowers or leaves to make fragrances, herb bundles, or potpourri. The oil in it’s leaves is also a source of the medicinal essential oil “thymol”, which is a popular antiseptic. There are many other medicinal uses for the herb including a treatment for headaches, cough, and fevers. (3)
Additional sources: Florida Wildflower Foundation Youtube
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