Plant identification

[hazebrouck]

Well, I thought my mystery plant was 4 oclocks. But it now has a bloom and I am thinking it is not. I have gone through the list of everything I planted in the past and I am wondering if it is bergamot/bee balm. Anybody else have a guess? Pictures behind the cut.

Comments

[sunniva_kyrre]

I sent a link to Cairistiona who is a Master Gardner to see what she thinks.

[hazebrouck]

Thanks!!

[sunniva_kyrre]

I cannot tell with the pictures you have.
so, we will do 20 questions....grin
The patch where it is growing, is all that the same plant? Some of the leaves look spikey (sharp and with thorns).

If yes.....

question 2...if you touch the stem on the plant, is it square?

If yes, then you have bee balm/bermont, and a good crop of it if you like tea. Bermont is in the mint family so incase you haven't noticed, it spreads like crazy. It will attract hummingbirds as this is one of their favorite flowers.

If no, I need a better pictures to continue...grin

Cairistiona

[hazebrouck]

The close up picture is only one plant. The further out one includes the possible bee balm and oregano and rue, and part of a tomato.

The stem is, indeed, square. So we have a winner!

I planted this last year, but I thought that the drought killed it almost immediately. Then I forgot where I had planted it. This year, we have a wet spring and voila! I have some catmint, wormwood and lamb's ear already trying to take over the world. Once or twice a season I viciously cut them back an toss out any volunteers. Hummingbirds are good. I also read that it is a good companion plant for tomato, which may be why I planted it there last year.

[sunniva_kyrre]

Yeah.....ding, ding, ding.....

Bee balm can be a thug in the garden. Like all good mint plants, it spreads like crazy. they are drough resistant.

I use to have be balm growing in front of my house, and as soon as the first blooms declined, I would do a hard prune on it. If you do this, it will keep producing flowers all summer. At the end of summer, instead of prunning it back, I would just pull it up and leave only a few plants. The next season, I would have more plant than I needed. In large masses, it puts on a great show, and I had hummingbirds there all day/summer long. New plants form from the roots. they send out tons of runner shoots.

Enjoy.

Cairistiona