6 Best Bee Balm Varieties for Hummingbird Gardens

You’re sitting on the porch with your morning coffee, and a flash of iridescent green zips past your ear. It’s a hummingbird, a tiny jewel of a bird, making its rounds. Creating a garden that not only looks good but also serves as a reliable fueling station for these energetic visitors is one of the great joys of tending a piece of land. And when it comes to rolling out the welcome mat for hummingbirds, few plants do it better than Bee Balm.

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Why Bee Balm is a Hummingbird Magnet

Bee Balm, or Monarda, is practically designed for hummingbirds. Its flowers are a cluster of small, deep tubes, a perfect match for a hummingbird’s long, slender beak and tongue. This structure forces the bird to probe deep for a reward, dusting its head with pollen in the process.

But it’s not just about shape. Monarda is a nectar powerhouse, offering a high-energy sugar source that these birds desperately need to fuel their hyper-fast metabolism. The plant essentially hangs out a sign that says "high-octane fuel here," and hummingbirds are experts at reading it.

The vibrant colors, especially the reds and deep pinks, act as a long-distance beacon. A patch of red bee balm is like a flashing neon sign in the landscape for a passing hummer. By planting it, you’re not just adding color; you’re creating a critical, reliable food source that supports your local ecosystem.

‘Jacob Cline’: The Classic Red for Hummers

If you can only plant one bee balm for hummingbirds, ‘Jacob Cline’ is the old-school, can’t-miss choice. Its flowers are a true, brilliant fire-engine red that hummingbirds simply cannot ignore. This is the variety that will have them buzzing your garden from dawn until dusk.

Be prepared for its size. ‘Jacob Cline’ is a stately plant, easily reaching four feet tall and forming a substantial clump. This makes it a fantastic choice for the back of a border, where it can create a wall of color without overwhelming shorter plants. It provides a strong vertical element to the garden design.

The main tradeoff with this classic is its susceptibility to powdery mildew. In humid climates or crowded beds with poor air circulation, you’ll likely see that tell-tale white dusting on the lower leaves late in the season. While it rarely kills the plant, it’s an aesthetic issue you need to plan for by giving it plenty of space.

‘Raspberry Wine’: Vibrant and Mildew-Resistant

‘Raspberry Wine’ offers a similar visual punch to ‘Jacob Cline’ but with a crucial upgrade. Its flowers are a stunning, deep raspberry-red, and it boasts excellent resistance to powdery mildew. For anyone who has battled that chalky fungus, this trait alone makes it a top contender.

This variety also has incredibly sturdy, square stems that hold the flower heads high without flopping over, even after a summer rain. This structural integrity means less work for you—no need for staking or corralling. It just stands tall and performs.

Think of ‘Raspberry Wine’ as the reliable workhorse. It delivers the vibrant color hummingbirds love and the robust health that gardeners appreciate. It’s a fantastic choice for creating a low-maintenance, high-impact display that looks good from June through August.

‘Purple Rooster’: A True, Deep Purple Choice

Many bee balms labeled "purple" are actually more of a pale lavender or magenta. ‘Purple Rooster’ breaks that mold. It produces large flower heads in a rich, true royal purple that stands out beautifully against its deep green foliage.

While hummingbirds are famously drawn to red, they are opportunistic feeders and will readily visit purple, pink, and orange flowers. Adding ‘Purple Rooster’ to a patch of red monarda creates a stunning color contrast and diversifies the nectar offerings in your garden. This color variation extends the visual season for you, too.

This is another variety with a reputation for good health and strong mildew resistance. It has a vigorous but upright growth habit, forming a dense clump that won’t aggressively take over its neighbors. It’s a dependable choice for adding a different hue to your hummingbird buffet.

‘Peter’s Purple’: A Long-Blooming Hybrid

For extending the bloom season, ‘Peter’s Purple’ is a standout performer. It’s a naturally occurring hybrid (Monarda fistulosa x M. barlettiana) discovered in Texas, and its parentage gives it some unique advantages. Most notably, it has an exceptionally long bloom time, often starting earlier and flowering later than many other varieties.

The flowers are a lovely shade of lavender-purple, held on tall, strong stems that can reach four to five feet. Its more open, airy habit allows for excellent air circulation, making it highly resistant to mildew. This plant is also remarkably tolerant of heat and humidity, making it a star performer in southern gardens where other monardas might struggle.

Because it’s a hybrid of a wild species, it has a slightly more natural, less "manicured" look. This makes it a perfect fit for meadow-style plantings or more informal garden beds. If your goal is to have nectar available for as long as possible, ‘Peter’s Purple’ is a must-have.

‘Marshall’s Delight’: A Top Pink Performer

Don’t overlook pink. ‘Marshall’s Delight’ is a Canadian-bred variety selected specifically for its superior mildew resistance, and it consistently ranks as one of the best in that regard. It produces clear, bright pink flowers that offer a softer, yet still vibrant, color for the garden.

This variety is typically a bit shorter and more compact than giants like ‘Jacob Cline’, usually topping out around three feet. This mid-range height makes it incredibly versatile. You can use it in the middle of the border to bridge the gap between shorter plants and taller ones.

‘Marshall’s Delight’ is a proven, reliable bloomer that won’t let you down. It combines a cheerful color that hummingbirds and bees both love with the iron-clad constitution that a busy hobby farmer needs. It’s a true plant-it-and-forget-it perennial.

‘Pardon My Cerise’: Compact and Long-Lasting

Not every garden has room for a four-foot perennial. The ‘Pardon My’ series offers the classic bee balm look in a much smaller package. ‘Pardon My Cerise’ is a fantastic dwarf variety, growing to only about 15-18 inches tall.

Despite its short stature, it produces a profusion of large, dark cherry-pink flowers. This makes it perfect for the front of the border, lining a walkway, or even growing in containers. It proves you can create a powerful hummingbird magnet even in a small space.

This compact plant is also known for its good reblooming potential. If you shear the plant back after its first major flush of flowers, you can often encourage a second, later wave of blooms, extending the nectar season into late summer. It’s a small plant that works hard.

Growing Tips for a Thriving Monarda Patch

Getting the most from your bee balm comes down to a few key principles. Following them will save you headaches and ensure your plants—and the hummingbirds—are happy.

First, give them sun and space. Bee balm thrives in full sun, which promotes the strongest stems and the most abundant flowers. The single most important factor for preventing powdery mildew is good air circulation. Avoid cramming plants together; let the breeze move through the foliage.

Second, mind the water. Monarda prefers consistently moist soil but absolutely hates wet feet. It will wilt dramatically when thirsty but can suffer from root rot in soggy, compacted ground. A two-inch layer of mulch is your best friend here, as it helps retain soil moisture and keeps the roots cool.

Finally, be prepared to divide. Bee balm spreads by underground runners and can become crowded and less vigorous over time. Every two to three years in the spring, dig up the clump, discard the old, woody center, and replant the healthy, vigorous outer sections. This simple chore keeps your patch healthy, productive, and in its designated spot.

Choosing the right bee balm variety is a simple but powerful step toward creating a dynamic, living garden. By matching a plant’s size, color, and disease resistance to your specific conditions, you can build a reliable, all-summer nectar bar. The reward is watching those tiny, determined hummingbirds return to your patch day after day, a sure sign of a healthy, thriving ecosystem right outside your door.