Wild Bergamot

Monarda fistulosa

Also called Beebalm

Hills guide picknative · Central Texassold locally

Wild Bergamot is a perennial native to Central Texas that grows 2–5 ft tall and 2–3 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low to medium water, and handles clay soil. Blooms red in summer. Deer rarely browse it. Good for birds, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Wild Bergamot against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

From our guide

Village of the Hills

Upright perennial with aromatic gray-green leaves and shaggy lavender flower heads in early summer.

Why it works here

Heavy pollinator draw and a long bloom, with foliage deer leave alone because of the oils.

Watch out

Powdery mildew in humid still air — give it airflow. Spreads at the root in good soil.

The facts

9 sources

Type: Perennial
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Low to medium
Height: 2–5 ft
Spread: 2–3 ft
Bloom: Summer · red
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes clay · recorded on dry, loam, moist, rocky, sand
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it. Strongly aromatic
Wildlife: Supports birds, butterflies and hummingbirds

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Northern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

46 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

2.5 and 4 inch pots

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.