Wild Bergamot is a perennial grown for its purple blooms, which open in late spring and return year after year. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 9. Its late spring flowers are a real draw for honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Wild Bergamot — the short answer
Wild Bergamot: grown in zones 3–9, part sun, pH 6.5–8.5, about 120 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 3–9
- 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
- 6.5–8.5
- USDA PLANTS
- Sun
- Part Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 120 days
- PrairieMoon; USDA-NRCS
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 Wild Bergamot on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether wild bergamot actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score wild bergamot against your land's real conditions.
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What Wild Bergamot is
Wild Bergamot grows as a perennial and reaches around 3.5 feet at maturity. It blooms purple in late spring.
How to grow Wild Bergamot
Wild Bergamot grows in USDA zones 3 through 9. Wild Bergamot does best in part sun — at least 4 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 6.5 to 8.5. It needs around 1,000 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 110 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
3-9
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
6.5 - 8.5
USDA PLANTS
Sun
Part Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
Data pending
Growable Ground plant catalog
Cold Hardiness
-38°F
The coldest temperature this plant is documented to survive.
USDA PLANTS
Days to Maturity
120 days
Wild bergamot; cold strat 30d.
PrairieMoon; USDA-NRCS
GDD Required
1000+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
3.5 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
110+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant wild bergamot in part sun with at least 4 hours of direct sun.
Match the soil
Wild Bergamot prefers pH 6.5 to 8.5 (USDA PLANTS). 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. Match watering to the plant's drainage preference and your local rainfall.
Harvest at its peak
Cut wild bergamot blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.
Where Wild Bergamot thrives
Wild Bergamot is hardy across USDA zones 3 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 3–9 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 30°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 42 outright and splits 9 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 3–9·Where Wild Bergamot growsOpen map →
Where Wild Bergamot stands, state by state
Wild Bergamot is rated for zones 3–9 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 42 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 9 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 3–9
42 states
3 of 42 shown
The line runs through
9 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Nevada · zones 4a-10a
3 of 9 shown
Wild Bergamot’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
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 Wild Bergamot
Growing guides for wild bergamot
In rotation planning, wild bergamot 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 — wild bergamot isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Wild Bergamot is a standout pollinator plant — high value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Xerces Society.)
Your land is one point inside Wild Bergamot'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 Wild Bergamot will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether wild bergamot 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 Wild Bergamot
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 Wild Bergamot in my zone?
Wild Bergamot grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 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 Wild Bergamot?
Time wild bergamot to your own season rather than the calendar, leaving enough of the season for its 110-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Wild Bergamot need?
Wild Bergamot does well in partial sun — around 4 hours of direct sun, and it takes some afternoon shade in stride. That flexibility makes it a good match for a bed the house or a nearby tree shades for part of the day. A Growable Ground report maps how the sun actually falls on your land, hour by hour, so you can set it where the light lines up.
What soil does Wild Bergamot need?
Wild Bergamot prefers soil pH 6.5 to 8.5 (USDA PLANTS). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Wild Bergamot attract pollinators?
Yes — wild bergamot's flowers are a strong nectar and pollen source for honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. (Source: Xerces Society.)
Is Wild Bergamot safe for pets?
Wild Bergamot is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)