Bee balm

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Hammom Jenks, OK May 19, 2016

Any ideas why my bee balm will not flower? It is not in full sun but does get a little morning, early afternoon and evening sun. The plant looks very healthy but no buds or blooms at all and none last year either. Do I need to move the location.

Thanks!

Dawn

Post #10227880
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nutsaboutnature Algonquin, IL(Zone 5a) May 19, 2016

There are several factors that could affect blooming. Here are a few of the more common ones.

1) Lack of sunlight - Bee Balm (Monarda) prefers sun. I've had Monarda bloom in part shade, but you will get less blooming.

2) Too much fertilizer - Bee Balm is an herb and generally herbs require little or no fertilizing. Too much fertilizer will cause lots of foliage with little or no blooming. I generally don't even fertilize my Bee Balm. I sometimes spread a little compost around the plant.

3) Plants possibly need dividing - If you've had the plants a long time it's possible they need to be divided.

There could be other reasons as well, but without knowing your exact conditions it's hard to know for sure.

Post #10227890
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altagardener Calgary, AB(Zone 3b) May 21, 2016

Bee balm is one of those plants that thrives on neglect. I agree that fertilizing is generally unnecessary.

(By the way, the term "herb" has two usages. One usage of "a herb" is as an abbreviation for a "herbaceous" plant, meaning one that dies to the ground in cold-climate winters. In other words, the stems are not woody.
The other usage of "a herb" is for a plant with culinary or "medicinal" uses, e.g. a culinary herb. In neither sense is it really valid to generalize that "herbs" have a common preference for soil fertility.)

Post #10228361
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Hammom Jenks, OK May 22, 2016

Thank you both for the information.

Post #10228614
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