Important Things to Know About Caring for Bee Balm

Dan Nursery Crops, Pollinators, This Land of Ours

Some things you should know about when caring for Bee Balm. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

caring

One of the most important things to know about bee balms is that they are vigorous plants. In small garden settings, some varieties of bee balm can out-compete less aggressive neighbors, so be careful where you plant them.

Bee balm spreads by rhizomes, or underground stems, which makes it easy to split and divide. It’s also one of the top rabbit-resistant plant choices for your garden.

Ideally, bee balm should be planted in full sun. This allows them to put on the best floral display and create dense growth. Plants in part sun don’t perform as well and tend to get more foliar diseases like powdery mildew, something that bee balm is notorious for.

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While bee balm can be drought-tolerant, most varieties prefer to stay moist, especially during the summer. They do need to be in well-drained soils; standing water causes problems with rot. An exceptionally long period of drought can weaken them, making them susceptible to foliar diseases.

Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.

Important Things to Know About Caring for Bee Balm