Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
This showy mint family member boasts a fragrance similar to bergamot oranges. Its aromatic leaves are used in herbal tea. Flowers attract myriad pollinators, especially native bees that also nest in their dead, hollow stems. The Virginia Native Plant Society named Wild Bergamot* Wildflower of the Year in 1993.
*It is native in DC. It is rare in Delaware. It is present in MD mostly in the Piedmont and throughout PA. The species, which in VA includes three varieties (var. fistulosa, var. mollis, and var. rubra) that have not been fully sorted out, is common in the mountains, frequent in the Piedmont, and rare in the Coastal Plain. In NoVA, it has not been reported in Prince William County. You can view the VA counties in which it has been reported here.
Learn more about Monarda fistulosa.
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