My Deer Garden

Plant record · Perennial · Lamiaceae

Is Bee Balm deer resistant?

Monarda didyma

Scarlet shaggy flower head of bee balm with upper leaves
Photo by Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Damage step 2 of 4 · Seldom Severely Damaged

Mostly. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.

Type
Perennial
Hardiness
Zones 4–9
Light
Part shade
Height
24–48 in
Bloom
July–September
Maintenance
Moderate
Native range
27 US states
Family
Lamiaceae

Damage steps follow a published university field scale. How plants are rated.

About Bee Balm

Mint family, strongly aromatic, and a magnet for hummingbirds. Deer browse it lightly at worst.

Two things to plan for. It spreads by runners like the mint it is related to, so it will travel through a bed and needs lifting and reducing every couple of years. And it is prone to powdery mildew, which turns the foliage gray and ugly by August in humid summers.

Mildew is mostly solvable at the point of purchase. Cultivars bred for resistance hold up far better than the species, and giving the plant real air movement rather than cramming it into the middle of a packed bed does more than any spray. Cutting a third of the stems out at the base in June opens it up and helps.

Do deer eat bee balm?

Seldom. Rutgers rates Monarda didyma Seldom Severely Damaged, B, and NC State: "This plant is resistant to damage by deer and rabbits." It is a mint, the leaf smells of oregano and bergamot when brushed, and the scent is the defense. Under pressure the flower heads are taken as they open, and the stand is not harmed.

Bee balm is not lemon balm. The two are confused in searches often enough to say so: lemon balm is Melissa, a small lemon-scented herb one tier higher; bee balm is this plant, the tall native with the shaggy red or purple heads that hummingbirds work.

Where it grows

NC State: zones 4a to 9b, 2 to 4 feet, full sun, flowering summer into fall, tolerating wet soil and black walnut, and "will spread rapidly by underground stolons." The problem is the one NC State names: "Plants are susceptible to powdery mildew and rust," with the note that "some cultivars have shown a fair amount of resistance." Air and the right cultivar do more than any spray.

Protecting bee balm

Where the heads are being taken, one application of the 20 percent egg spray Colorado State rates High as they form. Most years, nothing.

If it is browsed

It regrows from the runners and flowers on the side shoots, and a stand cut back by a third in June, which is the mildew treatment, flowers later and shorter anyway. A browsed bee balm looks like a pruned one by August.

Soil and care

Soil pH
6 to 7
Drainage
Consistently moist
Water
Moderate
Fertility
Moderate
Spacing
18 to 24 in apart
Growth rate
Fast
Maintenance
Moderate

Tolerances and uses

Drought
Low
Salt
Low
Pollinators
High

Rain gardens·Attracts birds

What to plant it with

  • Switchgrass

    Prairie pairing. Grass gives winter structure, bee balm gives mid-summer colour and pollinators.

Similar to Bee Balm

Other perennials with the same deer rating.

Where Bee Balm grows

Hardy across every state on zone range alone, and native to 27 of them. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — native, and hardy. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — native, and hardy. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — native, and hardy. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — native, and hardy. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — native, and hardy. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — native, and hardy. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — native, and hardy. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — native, and hardy. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Native and hardyHardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Bee Balm

Is Bee Balm deer resistant?
Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged, step 2 of 4 on the damage scale this site uses. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
What hardiness zones does Bee Balm grow in?
Bee Balm is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
Does Bee Balm grow in shade?
Yes. Bee Balm tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
How big does Bee Balm get?
Mature height is roughly 24–48 in. Growth rate is fast.
When does Bee Balm bloom?
Bee Balm flowers from July–September.

Browse from here

Every list Bee Balm belongs to.

All perennials·Seldom damaged·Part shade plants

Hardy in these zones

Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8·Zone 9

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .