What Not to Plant With Bee Balm for a Healthy Garden

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Robby

Bee balm is an all-around great perennial that can be used to make tea or salad, attract beneficial pollinators, and provide long-lasting color to any garden design. The list of plants that grow well alongside Bee Balm is long and varied. Bee Balm can be used as an accent for Mediterranean and deciduous shrubs, early and late-season perennials, and warm-season annuals with fantastic results. This medicinal herb also entices bees and other pollinators to the kitchen garden, increasing pollination of fruit and vegetables.

Monarda, the Latin name of Bee Balm, demands very little to keep it happy in the garden. Well-draining soil and full sun exposure are essential for vigorous and healthy root formation and reduced risk of mildews or fungal rust diseases, which often plague Bee Balm.

Bee balm (Monarda) is a gorgeous perennial flower that adds splashes of color to any garden with its bright pink, red, or purple blooms. Also known as bergamot or Oswego tea, bee balm is a member of the mint family and attracts pollinators like hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies While bee balm can thrive when planted near the right companion plants, it’s important to avoid planting certain varieties that can compete with the bee balm or expose it to diseases.

When designing your garden beds and borders, keep in mind that bee balm grows best in full sun and moist, well-draining soil. Give each bee balm plant about 2 feet of space all around to prevent overcrowding. Here are 6 types of plants you’ll want to avoid planting next to your bee balm.

Invasive Plants

Bee balm is an aggressive spreader, filling in garden beds with its underground rhizome root system. However, it can still fall victim to extremely invasive plants that will choke out the bee balm Avoid planting notorious invasives like

  • Barberry
  • Bungleweed
  • Burning bush
  • Chinese wisteria
  • English ivy
  • Kudzu
  • Lantana
  • Oriental bittersweet
  • Privet
  • Sweet autumn clematis

These fast-growing invasive plants will quickly take over garden beds, crowding out bee balm and monopolizing all the available nutrients, water, and sunlight. Give bee balm a fighting chance by planting it far away from invasive species.

Heavy Feeders

Some plants are extra hungry when it comes to soil nutrients, especially nitrogen. Heavy feeding vegetables and annuals like:

  • Corn
  • Cucumbers
  • Melons
  • Peppers
  • Squash
  • Sunflowers
  • Tomatoes
  • Zucchini

These varieties can rapidly deplete soil nutrients, starving nearby bee balm plants. For best results, plant heavy feeders in a separate garden bed.

Shade-Producing Plants

While bee balm can tolerate partial shade, it thrives in full sunlight. Avoid planting it near trees, shrubs, vines or other plants that will cast too much shade over the bee balm. Some shade-producing plants to watch out for include:

  • Buckthorn
  • Clematis
  • Flowering dogwood
  • Pyracantha
  • Southern live oak
  • Weeping podocarpus
  • White spruce

Insufficient sunlight can inhibit bee balm’s flowering and lead to leggy, weak growth. For optimal blooms and plant health, give bee balm at least 6 hours of direct sun daily.

Mildew-Prone Plants

Powdery mildew is a common fungal disease of bee balm foliage. Help prevent mildew from taking hold by not planting bee balm next to other mildew-magnet plants like:

  • Crabapple trees
  • Cucumbers
  • Delphinium
  • Garden phlox
  • Lilacs
  • Roses
  • Squash
  • Zinnias

These plants are very prone to powdery mildew infections. Spores can spread from infected plants onto bee balm, especially in hot, humid conditions. Allow ample space between bee balm and mildew-prone plants.

Vegetables

It’s best not to interplant bee balm with vegetables, even though they both thrive in full sun. Vegetables are heavy feeders that will compete with bee balm for soil nutrients. Avoid planting bee balm near vegetables like:

  • Beets
  • Broccoli
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots
  • Corn
  • Cucumbers
  • Melons
  • Peppers
  • Squash
  • Tomatoes

However, bee balm can be planted near lighter feeding vegetables such as beans, chickpeas, lamb’s lettuce, and turnips.

Herbs

Since bee balm is in the mint family, it will compete with other minty herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme. Don’t plant bee balm right next to these herbs. It’s better to give each plant its own space to prevent one from overtaking the other. The mint varieties to avoid planting next to bee balm include:

  • Apple mint
  • Chocolate mint
  • Orange mint
  • Peppermint
  • Pineapple mint
  • Spearmint
  • Wild mint

By avoiding heavy feeders, invasive plants, shade casters, mildew magnifiers, and minty competitors, you can create optimal growing conditions for your bee balm. Focus on planting bee balm near shorter, sun-loving perennials, annuals, herbs and pollinator-friendly flowers. With the right companion plants, your bee balm will thrive and add beauty to your garden for years to come.

what not to plant with bee balm

Shrubs To Plant With Bee Balm

Bee Balm pairs nicely with shrubs that prefer drier soils and full sun exposure. Lavender, rosemary, and thyme typically form the backbone of a fully stocked herb garden and look lovely behind lower-growing Bee Balm and its vivid flowers. Although Bee Balm is part of the Mint family, it does not spread as rampantly and can be grown safely between and in front of shrubs. Other more ornamental shrubs such as Abelia, Buddleia, and Spirea share Bee Balm’s preference for full sun exposure and provide long-lasting seasonal color.

Best Companion Plants For Bee Balm in Containers

Containers full of seasonal annuals and perennials are fabulous for decorating a deck, patio, or balcony and can be changed every year if desired. Bee Balm grows so well in a pot that even the smallest space can be turned into a pollinator-friendly zone. Plant Bee Balm as a thriller amongst fillers like Calibrachoa, Supertunia Petunias, and Trailing Verbena for long-lasting and easy-to-care-for summer color.

Ensure that any container used for growing has sufficient drainage at the bottom and is large enough to accommodate all plants. The above-mentioned combination would fill and grow in a 16-inch diameter pot quite happily. Fertilize container-grown Bee Balm monthly with a diluted liquid feed such as seaweed or fish emulsion.

What NOT to plant in your garden starring Century Plant, Bee Balm, Eastern Box Turtle.

FAQ

What’s a good companion plant for bee balm?

Hummingbirds and Hummingbird moths are both frequent visitors to Bee Balm. Favorite Companion Plants: As there are so many colors of bee balm, it can work successfully in almost any sunny garden setting with a variety of plants such as Shasta daisy or garden phlox.

Will bee balm choke out other plants?

Fleshing out constantly, they can thus surround and choke out other plants in the garden by creating shade and competing for nutrients and moisture. However, as a native species that’s attractive to pollinators, we’re not suggesting that you rid your garden of these beautiful flowers altogether.

Where is the best place to plant bee balm?

Bee balm thrives in full sun to partial shade and prefers moist, well-drained soil. It’s best to plant them in an area with good air circulation to prevent powdery mildew.

What are common problems with bee balm?

Common Pests and Diseases

As for pests, common garden pests like spider mites, aphids, thrips, and stalk borers can all afflict bee balm. However, the plant is not known for being especially prone to any of them. Early prevention and management isareey to preventing and treating any pest infestation.

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