Bee Balm is a perennial grown for its red blooms, which open in summer and return year after year. It's hardy across USDA zones 4 through 9, shrugs off deer and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a real draw for honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Bee Balm — the short answer
Bee Balm: grown in zones 4–9, full sun, pH 6–7.
- USDA zones
- 4–9
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 6–7
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Bee Balm on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether bee balm actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score bee balm against your land's real conditions.
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What Bee Balm is
Bee Balm grows as a perennial and reaches around three feet at maturity. It blooms red in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Bee Balm
Bee Balm grows in USDA zones 4 through 9. Bee Balm does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 6 to 7, on well-drained ground.
USDA Zones
4-9
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
6 - 7
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
3 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant bee balm in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Bee Balm prefers pH 6 to 7 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at its peak
Cut bee balm blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.
Where Bee Balm thrives
Bee Balm is hardy across USDA zones 4 through 9. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 4–9 spans average winter lows from -30°F to 30°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 33 outright and splits 18 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 4–9·Where Bee Balm growsOpen map →
Where Bee Balm stands, state by state
Bee Balm is rated for zones 4–9 — a cold floor USDA puts at -30 to -20°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 33 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 18 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 4–9
33 states
3 of 33 shown
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Bee Balm
Growing guides for bee balm
In rotation planning, bee balm counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in perennial flower
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — bee balm isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Bee Balm is a standout pollinator plant — high value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Xerces Society.)
Your land is one point inside Bee Balm's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Bee Balm will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether bee balm actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Bee Balm
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Bee Balm in my zone?
Bee Balm grows in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 9 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Bee Balm?
Bee Balm is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Bee Balm need?
Bee Balm needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Bee Balm need?
Bee Balm prefers soil pH 6 to 7, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Bee Balm attract pollinators?
Yes — bee balm's flowers are a strong nectar and pollen source for honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. (Source: Xerces Society.)
Is Bee Balm safe for pets?
Bee Balm is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)