Monarda didyma
| Monarda didyma | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Early Fall |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Monarda didyma (common name: bergamot)
Propagation: Seed - sow mid to late spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 10 - 40 days at 20°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
The seed can also be sown in situ in late summer in areas where the winters are not too severe and will produce larger plants.
Cuttings of soft basal shoots in spring. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground stem when they are about 8 - 10cm above the ground. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring or autumn. Very easy, large divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.
Cultivation: Easily grown in ordinary garden soil so long as it is not too dry[1][2]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Requires a moist soil and a sunny position[3][2]. Prefers some shade[3] but succeeds in a sunny position so long as the soil does not dry out.
Plants are hardy to at least -25°c[4].
The flowers are rich in nectar and are very attractive to bees[3][5][6]. A good companion plant, it grows well with tomatoes[7][8].
Bergamot is a very ornamental and aromatic plant, it is often grown in the herb garden, there are some named varieties[9][10]. The leaves, stems and roots carry a delicious aromatic orange-like perfume when crushed[11].
Plants are subject to mildew in dry summers[2].
Range: Eastern N. America - New York to Michigan, south to Georgia and Tennessee.
Habitat: Moist soils[12] in rich woods, thickets and bottom lands[13].
Edibility: Leaves and young shoot tips - raw or cooked. They are used as a flavouring in salads, fruit salads, drinks etc[14][15][16][9].
Flowers - raw. They are added as an attractive garnish to salads[9][17][6].
An excellent aromatic tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves and flower heads[18][14][16][9]. The leaves give an Earl Grey flavour to China tea[17].
Medicinal: Bergamot is often used as a domestic medicine, being particularly useful in the treatment of digestive disorders.
The leaves and flowering stems are anthelmintic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, rubefacient and stimulant[3][19]. An infusion is used in the treatment of flatulent colic and sickness, it is also used as a diuretic to treat urinary disorders[3][17]. The leaves can be harvested before the plant flowers, or they can be harvested with the flowering stems. They can be used fresh or dried[17].
An essential oil from the herb is mainly used externally as a rubefacient in the treatment of rheumatism etc[3].
Usage: Yields an essential oil, used in perfumery, as a hair tonic etc[14][15].
The dried leaves and flowers are used to scent and add colour to pot-pourri[17].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
In Leaf: Mid Spring-Mid Fall
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Phillips, Roger. Herbs. Pan Books, 1990.
- ↑ Hylton, Josie and William Holtom. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press, 1979.
- ↑ Riotte, Louise. Carrots Love Tomatoes. Garden Way, 1978.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.