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Monarda 'Colrain Red'

I love this plant! I planted them last year, the red ones that are so prone to powdery mildew (did not know it at the time of purchase). Last year they did not bloom at all, but did get a lot of the ugly mildew on their leaves. I was unhappy, but gave them another year.

This year, many, many more than the few plants I'd purchased grew in a circle around the area the old plant from last year had been. They were expensive to buy initially, but wow what an investment. I got so many more and for free. And the pattern they grew in sort of looked like they'd just grown there on their own.

What I have noticed about my super-dry New Mexico climate is that if I keep them watered ... almost daily here.... it really helps keep the powdery mildew down. That was my solution.

The hummingbirds do love them and they do provide a great healthy, medium-green, background for the brilliant red flowers. Very nice with interplanted with purple and white flowers. I used Russian Sage (lavender flowers), and Blue Mist Spirea (sort of a purple blue). What a combination.

I can not wait until next Spring so I can try dividing them and moving them to my backyard to intermix with my purple bushes back there.

The 'Colrain Red' is a fairly tall monarda, but mine have not flopped or shown any signs of mildew. They also have no scent (at least that I can detect.) The bees love this plant (not surprisingly), and it's a great deep magenta-red for the mid- or back-of the border (I made the mistake of planting mine near the front, not realizing they'd get this tall. I'll move them to the back of the border this fall.

I live in zone 5, I planted 3 of these plants in full sunlight. After growing several feet they flopped to the ground and started growing like a vine. If in zone 5, I don't recommend this tall variety. When I went to stake one, lifting it off the ground the plant broke off at the base, you better stake them sooner rather than later.

Next, their smell, they are extremely fragrant and as nice smelling as paint thinner, or ammonia, or boys BO it's sharp and toxic smell is that pungent. My spouse and I simply can not STAND the smell. In fall it got covered in powdery mildew and looked horrible! Just when I thought there couldn't be enough pain come spring my 3 plants had turned into 300! They send out runners like no tomorrow, any stem that falls on the ground roots. Any branch that breaks will root.

So, bad smell, can't stand up on their own in full sun (zone 5), powdery mildew, and spreads faster than an invasive weed merits a negative for this plant... even if they could stand upright (better than zone 5) the BO smell, powdery mildew, and invasiveness would still merit a bad rating from me.