Monarda citriodora
(Lemon bee balm, bergamot)
Family - Lamiaceae
Category - Perennial
Origin - Southern USA, Northern Mexico
Season of Interest - Summer, Autumn
Hardiness - H5
Height - 75cm
Width - 30cm
Location - The House Border, The Terrace
Description: A herbaceous, often short-lived Perennial with a clump-forming habit and tall, upright stems. Lanceolate to oblong leaves are mid to bright green and have coarsely toothed margins. The foliage smells strongly of citrus when crushed. Tubular flowers are bright magenta-pink and are marked with deeper spots. The flowers are held in whorled clusters and each cluster sits atop a dense collar of showy, mauve-purple Bracts. The flower clusters are neatly spaced towards the tips of the stems and are produced from mid-summer into mid-autumn. Highly attractive to pollinators.
Flower:
Tubular flowers are bright magenta-pink and have deeper speckles. Each bloom has a hooded upper petal and the lower petal has a large white blotch towards the centre. The flowers are held in whorled clusters towards the tips of the stems, each cluster sits above a dense collar of showy, mauve-purple bracts. The flowers are produced from July into October.
Flower colour: Magenta-pink
Flower shape: Tubular flowers held in whorled clusters
Flowering time: July, August, September, October
Foliage:
Bright to mid-green leaves are lanceolate to oblong in shape with Dentate margins. The foliage smells strongly of citrus when crushed. The leaves are held in clusters which are held in opposite pairs up the vertical, square stems.
Foliage Senescence: Deciduous
Foliage Shape: Lanceolate to oblong
Propagation:
Cuttings, division, seed.
Cultivation:
Best in full sun in fertile, moisture-retentive soil that is well-drained.