Electric Neon Pink Bee Balm - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Electric Neon Pink has some of the largest bee balm flowers around, about 3 inches across, in a deep, glowing neon pink that fades slightly lighter toward the tips for a two-tone look. The flowers open from midsummer into late summer.

The glossy, dark green leaves make a neat upright mound roughly 20 to 22 inches tall. It fits the middle of the border or a large container, and the minty foliage and nectar-rich flowers draw hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.

What it looks like

Large, shaggy flower heads about 3 inches across are made of many long, tubular florets in intense dark neon pink, slightly paler at the outer tips so each head looks two-toned. The heads sit on dark pinkish bracts atop square stems. Leaves are opposite, oval to lance-shaped, glossy and dark green with toothed edges. The plant forms an upright mound about 20 to 22 inches tall and 18 to 20 inches wide. At peak bloom the big pink heads stand just above the glossy foliage across the whole top of the plant.

Growing it with lavender

Bee balm prefers richer, more evenly moist soil than lavender, so set it in a neighboring bed with better soil and regular water, where its neon pink heads carry on the summer color and bee traffic near your lavender.

Care

Grow in full sun to part shade in average to fertile soil with regular water, especially during summer dry spells. Hardy in zones 4-8. Give it room for air to move around the stems to help keep leaves clean, deadhead faded heads for a longer show, and divide the clump every few years in spring.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Monarda
• Flower color: Neon pink, lighter at the tips
• Foliage: Glossy dark green
• Growth habit: Upright mound
• Mature size: 20–22 in tall × 18–20 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
• Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
• Bloom start: Early-July
• Peak bloom: Mid-July
• Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
• Deer resistance: Resistant
• Pollinator value: Excellent

Sizes and shipping

One full 72-cell plug tray: 72 young starter plugs of this variety (cells about 1⅓ in. wide × 2½ in. deep), rooted and ready to pot up into quarts or gallons. Best for growers and nurseries. Potted plants and plug trays ship during our live-plant seasons, March 1–May 31 and October 1–November 30; June through September is local pickup only. Plugs, potted plants and trays do not ship to AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT or WA.