Spotted Bee-Balm

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
Sand
Sun
No salt tolerance

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 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. (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)