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 bees. Seedheads attract small birds. The Virginia Native Plant Society named Wild Bergamot* Wildflower of the Year in 1993.
*It is native in DC, Maryland and in the Piedmont of Delaware. It is native in about two-thirds of the counties in PA. The species, which in VA includes three varieties (var. fistulosa, var. mollis, and var. rubra) that have not been fully sorted out, is frequent in the Piedmont, common in the mountains, and rare in the Coastal Plain. In NoVA, it has not been reported in Prince William County.
Learn more about Monarda fistulosa and watch a video showing some visiting pollinators.
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