Leading Lady Orchid Bee Balm - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Leading Lady Orchid flowers early for a bee balm, typically opening around the start of June here in Michigan and lasting into July. The orchid-pink blossoms have paler pink centers and a fine sprinkling of fuchsia spots on the open petals.

It grows only about a foot tall with dense, glossy, dark green foliage and stays in a neat clump rather than spreading. Use it at the front of a border, in containers or in a rain garden. Deer tend to avoid the fragrant leaves, while butterflies, hummingbirds and honeybees seek out the nectar.

What it looks like

Rounded flower heads are made of tubular, two-lipped florets in orchid pink, lighter pink toward the throat, with the open lips finely speckled with fuchsia dots for a bicolor effect. The heads sit on purplish-pink bracts just above the foliage. Leaves are opposite, oval to lance-shaped, dark green and somewhat glossy on densely branched stems. The plant forms a low, compact clump about 10 to 14 inches tall and 22 to 28 inches wide. At peak bloom the orchid-pink heads cover the top of the dark green mound evenly.

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 orchid-pink heads carry on the summer color and bee traffic near your lavender.

Care

Plant in full sun to part shade in average to fertile soil and water regularly; this compact type does not like to dry out completely. Hardy in zones 4-8. Good air flow keeps the glossy leaves healthy, and trimming spent flower heads tidies the plant after bloom.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Monarda
• Flower color: Orchid pink with lighter centers and fuchsia speckles
• Foliage: Glossy dark green
• Growth habit: Compact, low clump
• Mature size: 10–14 in tall × 22–28 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
• Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
• Bloom start: Early-June
• Peak bloom: Mid-June
• 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.