Description
Beebalm can be found in bottomlands, moist woods, and streambanks. This mint family member is clump forming and can become quite robust once established. The tubular, showy flowers are a bright scarlet-red that can be used in floral displays. Its flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds, swallowtail butterflies, native bees, and many other pollinators. Beebalm can be used in the landscape as an herb, in a rain garden, or to naturalize. It spreads by both rhizomes and self-seeding. The leaves have a minty refreshing scent when bruised or crushed, and the Oswego people of New York state famously used this plant as a tea. It can tolerate rabbits, deer, clay soils, and black walnut trees. Monarda didyma is a larval host to the orange mint moth, raspberry pyrausta, and the hermit sphinx moth (similar to the one pictured above).
