Sugar Buzz® Bubblegum Blast Bee Balm - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Sugar Buzz® Bubblegum Blast covers itself in hot pink bee balm flowers in midsummer. The blooms are held on strong, branching stems that make a full dome of color about 2 feet tall.

It spreads to fill its space and works well in the middle of a border or a large container, but it is not an aggressive runner. It shows good resistance to powdery mildew, and the fragrant leaves smell of mint. Expect plenty of visits from hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.

What it looks like

Shaggy, rounded flower heads 2 to 2.5 inches across are made of many slender, tubular florets in bright bubblegum to hot pink, radiating from a central crown. The heads sit on pinkish bracts at the tops of square, well-branched stems. Leaves are opposite, oval to lance-shaped, dark green and toothed. The plant forms a broad, upright clump about 24 inches tall and up to 32 inches wide. At peak bloom the flower heads crowd together into a solid pink dome over the foliage.

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 hot 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: Hot pink
• Foliage: Dark green
• Growth habit: Upright clump
• Mature size: 24 in tall × 32 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: Single Flush
• 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.