Illustration
Blue Stocking Bee Balm
Monarda 'Blaustrumpf'
Also called monarda blue stocking and bergamot blaustrumpf
Blue Stocking Bee Balm blooms from July through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Blue Stocking Bee Balm
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 3 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (a house reading).
Pets
- No toxic listing found for dogs and cats in the sources we check.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Blue Stocking Bee Balm. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Blue Stocking Bee Balm
Plant Blue Stocking Bee Balm in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from July to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Blue Stocking Bee Balm get?
3 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1.5 ftwideSee Blue Stocking Bee Balm in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Blue Stocking Bee Balm
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Blue Stocking Bee Balm about 1.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Blue Stocking Bee Balm to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Blue Stocking Bee Balm's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 14 published sources on October 12, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- abnativeplants.comAmerican Beauties Native Plantsheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, pests and toxicity
- Plant Addictsselling American Beauties Native Plantsheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil and pests
- Perennials.com (Heritage Perennials)Heritage Perennials, Valleybrook Gardensheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and toxicity
- Mt. Cuba CenterTrial Gardenheight, spread, bloom months and color, trait tags and diseases
- Chicago Botanic GardenPlant Evaluation Notes, Issue 12, 1998height, bloom months and color and diseases
- dafne.atHBLFA für Gartenbau und Österreichische Bundesgärten, Schönbrunn, 2019...height, bloom months and color and diseases
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolbox, Monarda genus pagesun, pests and toxicity
- staudensichtung.deArbeitskreis Staudensichtung, Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf, 2019...height, trait tags and diseases
- ecommons.cornell.eduCornell University, New York State IPM Program, Agricultural IPM 2003-...diseases
- irp.cdn-website.comNC State University, R. E. Bir and J. L. Conner, SNA Research Conferen...diseases
- Mt. Cuba CenterMonarda for the Mid-Atlantic Region, 2014-2016 trial reportheight
- uvm.eduUniversity of Vermont, Leonard Perry, 1994-1997 cultivar trialdiseases
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.