Those hummingbird moths are wild! (and not a whole lot smaller than the birds.) I saw them first at weedom about 2 years ago, and they're still with us. Maybe they're taking over :-D.
Starting to wonder if the sweeter bergamot species for the butterflies and the rest are for the bumbles which really seem not to worry about flavor. They go nutz for ground ivy too.
Thanks for this very informative post, which IDs the three Monardas and the traits of two. I now know mine is Monarda Media. I think it smells just like Earl Grey tea, and probably leans toward the charactistic uses of the red variety (whose Latin name my autofill refuses to let me type so “red” is the name of the moment.)
You have the sweet stuff then. I strongly suspect that's the type that Matthew Wood was using most, and probably for his tinnitus miracles, so I'm thinking of planting it here again.
I don't use bee balm in any edible form, but I sure love to grow it for insects. I'm a Monarda punctata fan girl. It's my favorite. It attracts all the best wasps and bees.
damn, you're a guitar player and you know all this other stuff!
always wish I was better at guitar, tho. 😎
I grew Monarda punctata one year, though it didn't come back - too much mulch, maybe? My main memory of it is that carpenter bees really loved it.
This year I got some Monarda didyma, and then once it bloomed I learned that there are hummingbird moths in my area!
Those hummingbird moths are wild! (and not a whole lot smaller than the birds.) I saw them first at weedom about 2 years ago, and they're still with us. Maybe they're taking over :-D.
Starting to wonder if the sweeter bergamot species for the butterflies and the rest are for the bumbles which really seem not to worry about flavor. They go nutz for ground ivy too.
I haven't noticed many butterflies on it. The butterflies prefer the M. didyma.
That makes sense. I'd choose M. didyma tea before M. fistulosa tea anyday, if flavor was the prime consideration. :-D
Thanks for this very informative post, which IDs the three Monardas and the traits of two. I now know mine is Monarda Media. I think it smells just like Earl Grey tea, and probably leans toward the charactistic uses of the red variety (whose Latin name my autofill refuses to let me type so “red” is the name of the moment.)
Yaaaa autofill is nutz .
You have the sweet stuff then. I strongly suspect that's the type that Matthew Wood was using most, and probably for his tinnitus miracles, so I'm thinking of planting it here again.
I don't use bee balm in any edible form, but I sure love to grow it for insects. I'm a Monarda punctata fan girl. It's my favorite. It attracts all the best wasps and bees.
The Monarda punctata is one that I haven't seen at weedom. Would be cool to get some in here. Do you get butterflies on it yours too?