I have given away Raspberry Wine and a noid red that I received in a trade. They both ran everywhere. I'm still pulling RW runners out after 3 years. On the other hand, My Blue Stocking is very well behaved. It blooms well but never gets much larger than when I planted it. I also had Pink Delight, and it died out due to being covered over by an agressive hosta. I repurchased PD and I'm putting it another area of the garden this year.

Linda

It's so easy to rip out. It grows right at the soil surface. I wouldn't consider it invasive. You just have to pull out the parts that get out of bounds. It's beautiful and hummingbirds adore it so. The dwarf varieties seem to be less prone to spreading but they don't grow as well for me.

Some varieties spread more than others but only when happy, and they are extremely easy to edit. The runners are just under the surface of the soil (or even ON the surface),so it is not like you will have to dig to China. Monardas like wet summers but die in wet winters, so many people can't keep it alive here. Good doers for me: Garden view scarlet and Balance(best pink). Not recommended: Scorpio(very mildew prone), Cambridge(lack of vigour and mildew, but extremely pleasant smell of foliage on this one), Squaw(dies from winter wet).

Here is Raspberry Wine that I let get out of control a bit, but its hard not to love it anyhow!! This is on a well-traveled country road that gets joggers and dog-walkers who always stop and gaze. This flowers a very long time, but it is not in full sun. It doesn't get sun til about noonish.

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Great patch there, Wendyb! I love Monarda, and grow many cultivars and species. In my garden the hummingbirds are most attracted to Monarda didyma and its cultivars, including Raspberry Wine. When these start blooming, I can count on seeing the hummers on a daily basis, often multiple times per day. The only plant they seem to like even better is Lobelia cardinalis. Although all the Monardas attract bees, certain butterflies, and hummingbird moths.

My noid red Monarda didyma and 'Raspberry Wine' both spread pretty aggressively, especially if they have moisture. They don't mind being in partial sun, but boy if they are in a rich moist soil they go nuts. If you want to slow them down, grow them in a drier soil.

As others have said, they are pretty easy to pull out, and there always seems to be somebody who wants some of the extras.

What about the dwarf varieties (e.g., Petite Delight)? Are those less apt to spread about?

I have red Jacob Cline, & the hummers love it! They visit twice a day without fail. Planted with tall, yellow day-lily Bonanza, w/same color eye.

So, it will travel, but it's not hard to pull it out. That might be just what I need. I like a robust plant that fills in, and I don't mind keeping something in check if it's easy to remove. I have Lunaria for example that reseeds all over the yard, but the seedlings stay put where they germinate and they are easy to pull out if they come up in the wrong place.

I can add the Monarda to a part sun location, but where I really want it, is full sun. Will it tolerate full sun? I also have a lot of dry spots under the drip line of mature trees, that get 4 hours of morning sun. I already have Agastache Honey Bee Blue reseeding there. I really don't have any moist spots and as a matter of fact, I tried Lobelia cardinalis and that only lasted one summer and never came back. I thought it might be the lack of moisture.

I LOVE that patch you have Wendy! Is that Agastache in front of it?

Do you deadhead Monarda and get a second flush?

Glad to see so many people growing it and thanks for the help.

In my opinion some things are not meant to be dwarf, they just do not look right(like a giraffe without its neck), and Monarda is one of them(second would be Delphinium). If you can grow a 'normal' Monarda, why bother with a dwarf?

pm, that is Stachys Hummelo in front of it.

I usually don't deadhead the Monarda until it is totally over late in the season. There are secondary flowers that do show up regardless of deadheading. They mix okay with the deadheads. If I have extra (!) time, I may deadhead. This bed was intended to be a zero-maintenance "rough" natural area. More shrubs, less perennials. It is beyond the sprinkler reach, but it does have good soil.

I have Jacob Cline in a sunnier and drier position and it does okay, but not as good as R.W.

My Raspberry Wine is in full sun and has done quite well in the 10 ft diameter bed that the original 3 plants have pretty much taken over. There is a lot of clay in this somewhat ammended soil that holds moisture well. The south edge 'ditch' of this island bed lays lower so it stays wetter especially in winter/spring. The RW has not spread much into that winter wet area. Hummingbirds do love it, as do many different bee types...and this guy below seems to be the most numerous seen zipping about. The hummingbird moth. The whole mass is constantly buzzing and gives me hours of entertaimment.

I don't deadhead as a routine, but do snip some around the outside of the mass that I can reach. I don't really see that it brings on more blooms. Mildew has, in 4 years, not been a problem.

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I've got one of the shorter Monardas. I think I got Grand Marshal. It's hasn't spread at all, just got a little wider. It's very pretty and covered in blooms for about a month in the summer but no rebloom from it. It does have a different look to it than the taller Monardas but I still think it looks beautiful, it just should be front. It has a great rounded form too which the taller ones often don't have.

wiselaw, I would definitely need the taller one and thanks for the list of varieties that you have tried. I didn't realize there were so many to try.

I would not have guessed that was Stachys Hummelo, Wendy. It looks so much like my HBB Agastache from a distance. Close up I can see the difference. What a nice combination!

Nice photo of the Hummingbird moth, gazania! Three plants took over a 10ft space...well I guess the full sun didn't slow it down much....lol. Great to know that someone has grown it successfully in full sun. I plan to try it in full
sun first and when I have some extra to try it in part shade. No mildew, I wonder if it is full sun or the variety?

Thanks for a report on the shorter Monardas, athenainwi.

Thanks for the note on 'Blue Stockings' linlily. I'll keep that in mind if the RW proves too much for me.

Looking forward to getting it in the ground as soon as the over night lows warm up a little.

wieslaw, I have a townhouse with limited space, so full size bee balms would effectively take over. I have several dwarf varieties of wildflower (coreopsis, monarda, shasta daisy) and I think they are going to look great together. I agree some species just aren't meant to be in dwarf size, but I hope monarda isn't one of them because I love them!

Mistascott, if you love it, go for it. But you can also consider planting Monarda in a bottomless bucket, buried up to the very edge. Then it will stay put. Just give it new soil each second or third year.

Wow, beautiful patch of RW, Wendy! I thought it was HBB agastache too, in front of it.

I don't have a lot of experience with monarda. Grew some about 100 years ago and it did well for a year or two then disappeared on me. I was new to gardening so I figured it was me!

Then I grew some monarda (didyma?) from seed. It bloomed in pink and purple and at first I was thrilled with the colors, but really, the blooms were not that full and looked... dirty. The color just wasn't good. I ripped it all out last fall and composted. Growth was great but not overly aggressive - spread about a foot in diameter per clump in three years - and it was easy to remove.

I'm hoping to get some more this year. I really love pink (and I LOVED the purple!) but I might go with red. I'm planning a red/orange bed and I'm thinking of monarda for this bed.

Fun thread! Great photos (love the moth - they are so cool!) - and would love to see more photos!

Dee

Here's a patch of Marshall's Delight. Notice the deadheads on the upper right are not extremely troublesome.

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why o why does my monarda suffer so...i cleaned off and out the yellow dead leaves (several times, have used neem to try and at least slow the disease/fungus. it is not mildew. spots on leaves, turn yellow and dies...help