Perennial Spotlight: Monarda 'Jacob Cline'

Monarda didyma or bee balm, as it is more commonly called, is one of the best perennials for our area in Virginia.  It is a drought tolerant plant that can take full sun or part sun.  I may get some powdery mildew on it a little later in the season, but by then I'm ready to prune it down any way.  Bee balm is an absolute favorite of humming birds.  When it blooms be watching because you will inevitably see hummingbirds.  Bee balm comes in a few different colors like red, purple and pink.  I also have a purple one that I received in a plant swap, but I prefer the red ('Jacob Cline').  It will self seed freely and you may find it next spring in different areas of your flower bed.  The seedlings are easy to pull out though and either dispose of or plant somewhere else.  This picture below is from a few years ago when I let it self seed.  It's beautiful in mass and you can see why hummingbirds would be attracted to that brilliant red.   

This is what I have now after four years of the garden being unattended and a lot more shade from the encroaching trees. 

 You can see that it is just starting to come into bloom.  I will get a few weeks of bloom from it.

If you are looking for a pairing to go with bee balm, shasta daisy 'Becky' blooms around the same time as bee balm 'Jacob Cline'.  You can find bee balm in most nurseries, although it may take some hunting to find 'Jacob Cline' because there are so many new varieties on the market..  You can always order it online from a nursery as well.