key takeaways
- In the beginning of the season, the bee balm can be split or cutting into branches by pinching or cutting.
- Late weather pruning is best for prevention of disease.
- The content of the diseased plants should be thrown into the dustbin or burnt, but should never make manure.
Wild burgamot, or bee balm, does not always require pruning, but cutting the stem and flowers from your plants at the right time can reduce problems, your plants can be shrubable, and they may have better flowers.
Unlike many perennial plants, bee balm can be cut in spring, heat or autumn in some different ways to achieve different results.
If you want to make your plants healthy and grow more flowers, here you need to know about how to pruning bee balm in different seasons – according to the professionals of plants!
Meet experts
- Emily blasden Seed Management Director in Wilde Seed Project.
- Kathy Reece Main-based Native Garden of Blue Hill is the Executive Director and Co-Founder.
The right time to reduce bee balm
Sprous / Evagenia Vlasova
Bee balm It is a relatively flexible plant and can be cut in some ways at different times of the year.
If your bee is suffering from balm powdery mildew During the growing season, there is a way to pruning in autumn. Wait for your plants to die again from the cold, and be sure to remove the content of all infected plants and settle in a proper way so that the problem of mildew does not spread.
Bee balm can also be dead When the flowers wither away from the end of the summer to the end of the summer, the self-sowing is encouraged to prevent and bloom the plants, but the most important time to pruning is the spring.
Plant expert Kathy Reece says, “In the beginning of the season, the wild bee balm can make small, busted plants that bloom for a while.”
Seed specialist Emily Blasden also recommends pruning quickly using the “Chelsea Chop” method – remove 1/2 part of the plant to 1/2. This is usually done in June for producers in cold areas, but it can also be done earlier in light climate when the plant is 12 to 18 inches long.
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How to cut B balm correctly
The methods of pruning bee balm vary depending on the weather and your horticulture goals. See here how to pruning these plants in the changing season.
Fall
Once the bee balm plants die back from the cold, you can cut the stems a few inches above the soil line to reduce the problems of powder mildew and throw old stems and leaves into a dustbin or dump.
This is treatment Only If the bee is infected with balm pests or disease during the growing season, it is required, and blasden recommends them to leave for support of pollpers and other wildlife.
“It is important to leave dead stems for bees that make nests on the stem,” says Blessman. “Perennial pruning can also delay flowers bloom and potentially insect life cycle can be interrupted.”
There is no need to mention, if you leave the head of the flower on the plant, birds like finch prefer to eat bee balm seeds in winter.
From spring to early summer
If you want the bee balm to become a bush, cut the growing tips of your plants with your fingers or cut a pinch. You can also adopt the “Chelsea Chop” method by cutting the trunk of the plant from 1/3 to 1/2.
“The exact height of pruning cuts depends on what kind of branch you want,” says Blasden. “Some people deduct a distance of a few inches from the ground; some like to cut where they want the branches of the plant to start.”
You can also use this time to dilute your plants, improve air flow and reduce the risk of mildew problems to remove about 1/4 stems of bee balm from the ground.
Middle to end of summer
Summer season deadhead is the time of bee balm flowers, which can be completed by playing chronic flowers on the nearest leaf node.
Blasden says, “This is the best way to reduce self-sowing.” “Deadheading also increases the flower for a little longer.”
5 other tips to grow bee balm
The Sprous / K. Dave
It is relatively easy to keep bee balm plants and does not require much attention. But if you want your plants to bloom even better flowers, then some more tips to remember are given here.
- Provide plenty of sunlight. Bee balm is a full sun plant which should get at least 6 to 8 hours of direct light per day. In low light conditions, these plants can be fluffy or stop flurring.
- Avoid aggressive spread. Like other plants of the mint family, the bee balm can spread rapidly. If you want to keep these plants more manageable, apply deadhead spoted flowers and consider growing bee balm in dedicated high beds.
- Leave the pesticides. Protect pollinators by not using pesticides on bee balm and other pollination-friendly flowers.
- Limit fertilizer. Bee balm does not require more fertilizer and can develop floppy stems in highly rich soil.
- Give water thoughtfully. To bloom and keep the plants strong, provide a bee balm with about 1 inch of water per week.
