AWild Bergamot Monarda Fistulosa

Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot) is a perennial perennial clump-forming! It likes light, dry soils or open woods. It blooms year-round in an abundance of purple flowers. Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot)'s leaves can be used to flavor tisanes and is attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. It prefers well-drained soil. Eastern bergamot is more showy.Monarda fistulosa is an herbaceous perennial that grows from slender creeping rhizomes, thus commonly occurring in large clumps. The plants are typically up to 3 ft (0.91 m) tall, with a few erect branches. Its leaves are 2–3 in (5.1–7.6 cm) long, lance-shaped, and toothed. Its compact flower clusters are solitary at the ends of branches. Each cluster is about 1.5 in (3.8 cm) long, containing about 20–50 flowers. Wild bergamot often grows in rich soils in dry fields, thickets, and clearings, usually on limy soil. The plants generally flower from June to September.

Wild

Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot) is a clump-forming perennial boasting masses of fragrant, lilac-purple, tubular flowers, borne in dense, globular terminal heads, 2-3 in. across (5-7 cm). Blooming for weeks from mid summer to early fall, they rest upon a whorl of decorative whitish bracts. The colorful and nectar-rich blooms ensure that butterflies and hummingbirds are regular visitors to the garden. The foliage of deep green aromatic leaves may be used to flavor teas. Less showy than the blossoms or Monarda didyma, Wild Bergamot is best suited to wild gardens, prairies and meadows.We love Wild Bergamot because it can be planted in spring, on bare soil, and will germinate without overwintering; it does not need stratification.

Monarda fistulosa, also commonly called Bee Balm or Horse-Mint, has a lovely lavender blossom and distinctively aromatic foliage. It is a familiar component of prairie and savanna communities on all but the wettest of soils. Native to most of North America, it often is cited for its historical medicinal applications among indigenous peoples. These include poultices for boils and lacerations, as well as tea infusions for headaches, indigestion and colds and flu. Wild Bergamot is a favorite of butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Wild bergamot is also one of the host plants of the Raspberry pyrausta butterfly. Its species name, fistulosa, refers to the tube-like structure of its blossoms, which appear from July through September, nicely complementing nearby yellow composite flowers, like Rudbeckia, Silphium, and Helianthus. Check out our short video about Wild Bergamot. (Source: www.prairiemoon.com)