White Bergamot
Monarda clinopodia
Found in moist, forested slopes. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
70
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 3–6 feet
- Spread
- 2–3 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- Spring, summer and fall
- Fruiting season
- July to October
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 49 Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 100 animals.
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Monarda
- Anterastria teratophoraGrey Marvel, White Spotted Jaspidia
- Eosphoropteryx thyatyroidesPink-Patched Looper Moth
- Lintneria eremitusHermit Sphinx
- Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pyrausta orphisalisOrange Mint Moth, Orange Spotted Pyrausta
- Pyrausta signatalisRaspberry Pyrausta
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
- Chionodes fondella
Show all 12
- Pyrausta generosa
- Xenotemna pallorana
37BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Monarda
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
4Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Monarda
- Dufourea monardae
- Perdita gerhardi
- Perdita variegata
- Protandrena abdominalis
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Purple or white
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring, summer and fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) differs)
- Flower color · “Purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil · “Good drainage; Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, Tennessee Smart Yards differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
White Bee Balm
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds freely. Re-seeds readily under ideal conditions. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications