Monarda bradburiana – EASTERN BEEBALM (early & short)

Superb low growing beebalm with light lavender-pink flowers, minty scented leaves, more compact and smaller habitus.

Flowers are purple-tingled or spotted, leaves at the tips are darker or brown-red. Very drought and some shade tolerant too. Doesn’t suffer with powdery mildew even in hot and humid climate.

Magnet for hummingbird, butterflies, bumblebees and native bees. Good choice for sunny flower border, butterfly garden, hummingbird garden, low maintenance gardens, deer resistant landscaping, for naturalizing in drier woodland edges, close to rocks etc.

The good perennial company will provide for example these native wildflowers and their cultivars : Amorpha canescens, Asclepias tuberosa, Asclepias verticillata, Aster oblongifolius, Aster laevis, Aster ericoides, Coreopsis, Cunila origanoides, Echinacea tennesseensis, Echinacea pallida or angustifolia, Echinacea paradoxa, Euphorbia corollata, Penstemon, Pycnanthemum, Rudbeckia missouriensis, Salvia lyrata, Solidago nemoralis, Sisyrinchium angustifolium and with grasses like Boutelloua gracilis, Eragrostis elliotii, Koeleria macrantha or cristata, Muhlenbergia capillaris, Sporobolus heterolepis, Schizachyrium scoparium.

From non-native perennials use Allium 'Millenium', Nepeta, Calamintha nepeta, Iris x germanica, Iris tectorum, Lavandula officinalis, Lavandula x intermedia, Perovskia, Stachys byzantina, Stachys macranthaand other drought tolerant perennials

Picture copyright : peganum, Wikipedia Commons

Blooming time : June to July, flowers for 3-4 weeks

Size : 1.5-2’ tall and wide

USDA zones : 5 to 8

Culture: full sun, half shade, grows well in average soil with, soils with some drainage, rocky, shallow, drier soils. Very drought tolerant.

Moisture Needs : dry, medium-dry, medium

Origin : Native to central and southern United States from Indiana to Alabama and west to Kansas, Arkansas and Texas (with the most density of populations in Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas). Naturally grows in drier savannas, rocky upland forests, limestone or sandstone glades, bluffs, drier woodland clearings, roadsides etc.

Deer/rabbit resistant : yes / yes

Attracts Butterflies or Pollinators : offers nectar tolong-tongued bees - especially bumblebees, butterflies, skippers, hummingbird moths, bee flies. Caterpillars of several moths feed on the foliage (also on other species of Monarda) and beetles.

Attracts Hummingbirds : yes

Pot Size : 3.5" perennial pot (1.22 pt/580 ml)