Bee balm is a North American native perennial in the mint family, grown for shaggy, tubular flower heads that draw hummingbirds, butterflies, and bumble bees from midsummer into fall. Found naturally in woodlands, meadows, and floodplains, it was named for Nicolás Monardes, a 16th-century Spanish physician, and its common name comes from an old use of the crushed leaves to soothe bee stings.
The genus is smaller than most gardeners assume. Counts run from 16 native species in older references to about 25 in newer ones, depending on how closely related forms are split, yet breeders have turned a handful of them into nearly 50 commercial hybrids whose colors range from dark mahogany red through pink to bluish lilac. Native plants earn their keep in the wild too: in northern New York, native bee balm hosts 12 species of butterflies and moths, 4 of which depend on it exclusively in that part of their range.
Powdery mildew is the plant’s famous weakness. In a trial that ran from 1993 to 1996, the Chicago Botanic Garden evaluated 41 varieties, and Iowa State University Extension reports that many developed serious problems, with the worst, including ‘Beauty of Cobham’ and ‘Croftway Pink,’ showing 76 percent or more infection and leaf drop. Plants typically reach 2 to 4 feet, though newer dwarf selections stay 10 to 15 inches tall, and choosing the right type matters more than any other decision a gardener makes.
What follows covers 24 types of bee balm: 6 native species, 7 mildew-resistant cultivars, 3 dwarf and series selections, and 8 other cultivars, including several that show why variety choice matters so much.
Native Bee Balm Species
Scarlet Bee Balm
Scarlet bee balm, also called Oswego tea, is the classic red bee balm of cottage gardens, with scarlet flowers and red bracts on plants 2 to 4 feet tall. It’s native to the eastern United States, especially the Appalachians, and eastern Canada.
The plant takes its Oswego tea name from the Oswego people, who brewed a hot, medicinal drink from its leaves. It wants rich, moist soil and good air circulation, and it’s the parent of many garden hybrids.
Wild Bergamot
Wild bergamot is the type species of the whole genus, producing lavender-pink flower heads that look like ragged pompoms. In the wild it can reach 48 inches tall, and it’s widely used for medicinal purposes.
Its light lavender to pinkish-white blooms are a softer alternative to the red hybrids, and the tall, sturdy stems suit naturalized plantings and prairie gardens. Both it and scarlet bee balm are among the species behind most of today’s hybrid cultivars.
Spotted Bee Balm
Spotted bee balm, also known as horsemint, is a somewhat disorderly prairie native with unbranched stems up to 36 inches tall. Its pink or lavender tubular flowers appear in rounded clusters, each stacked in tiers along the stem.
It has one of the widest ranges of any bee balm, reaching from the Southeast to New England, the Midwest, and the Pacific Coast. Heights vary from 1 to 5 feet depending on conditions, and it’s one of 3 bee balm species native to Iowa.
Lemon Bee Balm
Lemon bee balm is a smaller native, growing 1 to 2.5 feet tall with 2 to 6 interrupted clusters of lavender to pink or white flowers from late spring into summer. Its foliage carries a distinct lemony scent.
It grows across the Southeast and parts of the Midwest, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, and Pacific Coast. Its pale flowers and aromatic leaves make it popular in herb gardens and wildlife plantings.
Eastern Bee Balm
Eastern bee balm is a small, early-blooming native that rarely exceeds 2 feet, flowering as early as May with pink to lavender blooms. It grows naturally on open, rocky sites in savannas and forests across the mid-Mississippi Valley.
Unlike its showier relatives, it resists powdery mildew and does best on the dry side, in sun or part shade. It’s hardy in zones 4 through 8 and serves as a host plant for moth caterpillars, along with offering nectar and pollen.
Purple Bergamot
Purple bergamot is a 2 to 3 foot native with a range stretching from Virginia and West Virginia through Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, plus parts of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest. Its name points to the purple-toned flowers that set it apart from scarlet bee balm.
It’s less commonly planted than scarlet or wild bergamot, which makes it a good choice for gardeners who want a native that looks different from the usual red hybrids. Like other native bee balms, it belongs to the mint family, and its crushed leaves release a spicy, fragrant oil.
Mildew-Resistant Cultivars
Marshall’s Delight
Marshall’s Delight is a bright pink cultivar developed at the Agriculture Canada Research Station in Morden, Manitoba, growing 2.5 to 4 feet tall. It earned an Award of Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society.
Iowa State University Extension lists it among the cultivars with good mildew resistance. In University of Vermont’s cold-climate trial, it tied for second-tier vigor.
Raspberry Wine
Raspberry Wine bears wine-red flowers on 3 to 4 foot plants, and the deep raspberry color is where the name comes from. It was recommended for mildew resistance in Iowa State’s trials.
Results aren’t uniform, though. University of Georgia trials in the humid Southeast found it more susceptible to powdery mildew, a reminder that local conditions change how any bee balm performs.
Violet Queen
Violet Queen produces violet-blue flowers and is listed among Iowa State’s mildew-resistant recommendations. It has also been named among the resistant selections in University of Vermont studies.
Its cool-toned flowers make a striking contrast against red and pink bee balms in the same border. Bee balm flowers come in white, pink, red, lavender, and purple, so a violet-blue selection fills a gap in the usual palette.
Gardenview Scarlet
Gardenview Scarlet features rose-red tubular flowers in dense, terminal heads on plants 24 to 36 inches tall, according to University of Missouri extension. It’s recognized as an award-winning cultivar by the Royal Horticultural Society.
Vigorous and clump-forming, it counts among the relatively early introductions that improved on older, mildew-prone reds. University of Vermont studies have also named it among the resistant cultivars.
Purple Mildew Resistant
Purple Mildew Resistant is named for exactly what it does: in a 3-year garden trial, not a single incidence of powdery mildew was observed on the plants. It was also included in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s 4-year evaluation.
That clean record has made it a go-to for gardeners tired of fighting leaf disease on other bee balms. Iowa State notes that choosing a resistant cultivar is the best way for home gardeners to avoid mildew, and that frequent, heavy fertilizing can make it worse.
Jacob Cline
Jacob Cline is a popular red cultivar of scarlet bee balm, known for striking flowers and improved disease resistance. University of Georgia trials rated it a top performer for bloom production, with moderate susceptibility to powdery mildew.
University of Vermont’s research adds a wrinkle: it survived well in a zone 4a site with better soil but poorly in a harsher zone 4b trial with drought and weed pressure. In New York, it bloomed from June 23 to July 30 in one pollinator garden.
Grand Parade
Grand Parade is an exceptionally hardy cultivar with profuse bright lavender-purple flowers on mid-sized plants. University of Missouri extension notes its very good mildew resistance.
Its exceptional hardiness makes it a reliable pick for northern gardens. University of Missouri extension cites it as an example of the breeding progress that produced nearly 50 commercial cultivars.
Dwarf Cultivars and Series
Petite Delight
Petite Delight was the first dwarf bee balm, topping out at just 12 to 15 inches with rose-pink to lavender-rose flowers. It’s rated fair for powdery mildew resistance.
Its size makes it a good front-of-border plant and a natural for containers. In University of Vermont’s cold trial, though, it survived poorly, so northern gardeners should protect it through winter.
Petite Wonder
Petite Wonder is a pink-flowered dwarf growing 10 to 15 inches tall, listed alongside Petite Delight in Iowa State’s dwarf recommendations. It offers the same compact habit with softer pink blooms.
Like other dwarfs, it blooms in midsummer and attracts the same bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds as full-sized types. It’s an easy way to add native pollinator value to a small garden.
Balmy Series
The Balmy series comes in 4 colors: lilac purple, vivid pink, purple-red, and rosy-pink. University of Missouri extension lists it among the newer bee balm series available to gardeners.
Because the series spans several colors, it lets gardeners build a coordinated planting from related plants. It’s a good place to start for anyone who wants a mix of shades without hunting for separate cultivars.
Other Cultivars Worth Knowing
Blue Stocking
Blue Stocking was one of the cultivars included in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s 1993 to 1996 evaluation, alongside Marshall’s Delight, Petite Delight, Raspberry Wine, and others. That trial compared 41 varieties over 4 years.
It’s still sold today and appears in the group of bee balms commonly paired with red and pink types in mixed plantings. As with any bee balm, wide spacing for airflow helps.
Elsie’s Lavender
Elsie’s Lavender was the most vigorous cultivar in University of Vermont’s cold-climate vigor trial, showing no reduction in vigor despite drought, weeds, and cold. That makes it a standout for northern gardens.
As its name suggests, it bears lavender flowers, and it held up where less hardy types faded. In a zone 4b test, it outperformed more famous names like Jacob Cline.
Cherokee
Cherokee ranked second in University of Vermont’s vigor trial, right behind Elsie’s Lavender. It showed strong survival under drought, weed, and cold stress.
That track record makes it a dependable choice for gardeners in short-season climates. It’s a good example of a lesser-known cultivar that outperforms popular ones.
Vintage Wine
Vintage Wine is a red-purple cultivar that ranked third in University of Vermont’s vigor trial. It combines deep color with solid winter survival.
It’s another lesser-known cultivar worth seeking out for cold climates. In the same trial, Elsie’s Lavender and Cherokee ranked first and second, so the top 3 all came from a hardy group worth considering together.
Loddon Crown
Loddon Crown tied with Marshall’s Delight for the next tier of vigor in University of Vermont’s trial. It held up through drought, weed pressure, and cold in a zone 4b site.
Its performance suggests it deserves wider use among gardeners in cold regions. Tied with Marshall’s Delight, it outperformed Jacob Cline, which survived poorly at that cold, drought-prone site.
Beauty of Cobham
Beauty of Cobham is a pink cultivar that fared very poorly in the Chicago Botanic Garden evaluation, with 76 percent or more infection and leaf drop from powdery mildew. It’s a cautionary example of an older variety that looks lovely but struggles.
Gardeners who already own it can improve its odds with wide spacing and thinning of stems. Pink-flowered Marshall’s Delight, by contrast, was rated resistant, so gardeners who want pink have better options.
Croftway Pink
Croftway Pink is another older pink cultivar that landed on the same very poor resistance list as Beauty of Cobham in the Chicago trial, with 76 percent or more infection and leaf drop. Like Beauty of Cobham, it comes from the older generation of bee balm hybrids.
Choosing a resistant alternative like Marshall’s Delight avoids the problem entirely, and good airflow helps any plant already in the garden. Iowa State recommends selecting resistant varieties as the best way for home gardeners to sidestep the disease.
Snow White
Snow White is a white-flowered cultivar that didn’t even survive its first winter in University of Vermont’s zone 4b trial. It joined Jacob Cline, Oriental Lace, Petite Delight, Scorpio, and Twins among the cultivars that struggled there.
It can still be grown in milder climates, where its pale flowers brighten evening gardens. Northern gardeners should treat it as a risky, short-lived perennial.
Key Takeaways
- Bee balm (Monarda) is a group of aromatic perennial plants known for their colorful, unusual flowers and mint-like foliage.
- Different Monarda types produce red, pink, purple, lavender, and white flowers, providing plenty of choices for different garden styles.
- Popular species include wild bergamot, scarlet bee balm, and spotted bee balm, each with distinctive flowers, foliage, and growth habits.
- Most bee balm varieties prefer full sun to partial shade and fertile, well-drained soil with consistent moisture.
- Bee balm is highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, making it a valuable addition to pollinator gardens.
- Good air circulation is important because Monarda can be susceptible to powdery mildew, especially in crowded or poorly ventilated conditions.
- The plants can spread through underground stems, so some varieties may need division or occasional maintenance to keep them within bounds.
- Choosing a Monarda variety suited to your climate, available space, soil conditions, and desired flower color will generally produce the best results.