Lavender Taffeta Bee Balm - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Lavender Taffeta is a substantial bee balm, about 2 feet tall and wider, with dark lilac-purple flowers covering the top half of the plant. After the first round of bloom, side branches push out a second flush, stretching the show from midsummer into late summer.

Its size makes it a good choice for filling the middle of a border or for larger landscape plantings. It resists powdery mildew well, the shiny dark leaves are fragrant, and the flowers are always busy with bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

What it looks like

Shaggy, rounded flower heads are made of many tubular, two-lipped florets in dark lilac-purple, sitting on purple-tinted bracts at the ends of well-branched square stems. Leaves are opposite, oval to lance-shaped, shiny and dark green with toothed edges. The plant forms a full, rounded clump about 22 to 26 inches tall and 28 to 30 inches wide. At peak bloom the flower heads cover the upper half of the plant, with a second tier of heads opening on side branches just below the first.

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 lilac-purple 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: Dark lilac purple
• Foliage: Shiny dark green
• Growth habit: Full, rounded clump
• Mature size: 22–26 in tall × 28–30 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
• Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
• Bloom start: Early-July
• Peak bloom: Late-July
• Bloom pattern: Repeat 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.