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Monarda Citriodora [ mo - NAR - da , sit - ree - oh - DOR - uh ] is a flowering plant specie from the family Lamiaceae , commonly known as the salvia , deadnettle , or mint family .
The Lamiaceae family of plants admit some of the most wide used culinary herbs of the world , such as deal , salvia , rosemary , basil , thyme , and oregano .
Monarda citriodora is have it away for its attractive purple - colored flower and the typical smell its leaves produce when chafe or crushed .
The smell is reminiscent of lemons , which is why the plant is unremarkably known as stinker mountain .
Even the botanic name reflects the same;citriodorameans lemon yellow - sweet-scented .
The first part of the scientific name , Monarda , which is also the name of the genus this flora belongs to , commemorates the 16th - century Spanish botanist and physician Nicolas Bautista Monardes who study medicative plants which were brought to Spain from the New World .
In addition to lemon mint , it is also known with the following common names :
This wild flower is a aboriginal plant to the United States ( Texas ) and Mexico , and develop in a variety of habitats in most of the gay surface area of the region .
In its native chain of mountains , purple horsemint is seen growing from pasture to flaxen and rocky prairie , to roadside .
Monarda Citriodora Care
Size & Growth
The Monarda citriodora grows most actively in the spring , often reaching the meridian of 3 ’ feet .
It features multiple shank , which produce from the radical and have pairs of lance - shaped leaves .
As mentioned above , the leaves produce lemony spirit when rub or crushed .
Citriodora grows and spread well , often forming large colonies , however , it has a short life .
Lemon Monarda citriodora is an one-year plant and dies with the first frost .
Flowering and Fragrance
The Monarda produces beautiful , but unusual tuft - like , whorled heyday heads on elongated spikes .
The bloom are fragrant , tubelike , two - lipped , and lavender to pink in colouring material .
Each helix of flowers is supported by lavender or white leaf - alike bracts .
While the bloom metre of gamboge mint typically hold out from May to July or August ( from late bounce / early summer to late summer ) , the plant life often continues to produce heyday till the end of summertime or even until the beginning of fall , if it receives enough water .
Light & Temperature
The lemon bee balm prefers full sun , but develop in fond shadiness as well .
It is fearless to USDA Hardiness geographical zone 5 to 9 .
As mentioned above , the works die with the first freeze .
Watering and Feeding
This Monarda coinage grows well when its soil is keep continuously damp .
Water it on a regular basis and do not let the territory entirely dry out as dry grime makes the plant vulnerable to foliar diseases .
However , verify to not overwater as well .
The rule of thumb is to water frequently , but passably .
course the lemon plant life once every two workweek starting from mid - May to early autumn .
Soil & Transplanting
Although purple Monarda citriodora prefers soils containing a high percentage of clay , it can well tolerate other grease types too .
However , verify the soil is well - draining .
Since it grows quite promptly , expert commend separate the clumps every three days .
Grooming and Maintenance
M. citriodora does n’t call for a lot of maintenance , but deadheading the flowers is known to help encourage flower and extending the flower period .
Experts also commend regale the plant life with copper sulfate or a fungicide once in former saltation and then in autumn , as a preventive measurement .
How To Propagate Horsemint
Citrus limon bergamot orange more often than not circularise by self - seeding .
Provided the good develop conditions , the Monadra chop-chop circulate and forms colonies .
But , they also grow from seeds and circulate by plant sectionalisation and stem cuttings .
Growing Lemon Mint Seeds :
Monarda by Division :
stalk cut :
Horsemint Pest or Diseases
Lemon horsemint issusceptible to powdery mildewand as mentioned above , it can develop foliar diseases if kept in juiceless dirt for a long clip .
The flowers of the Monarda citriodora are highly attractive to bee , butterflies , and hummingbird , which also act as pollinator .
It also attracts good insects to the garden .
Monarda Citriodora Uses
Lemon beebalm is widely develop as a bedding industrial plant in full sun and part nicety and is also a democratic choice for herbaceous plant gardens , cottage garden , prairies , and roadsides .
In some parts of the world , its farewell are used for culinary purposes , such as for making herbal tea .
The flowers are edible , the leave intensely piquant , and the unusual blooms make light to apply cut flowers .
Monarda citriodora was also in the first place used as a bee repellent , hence the common name lemon beebalm .
