Last year, I cut back the bee balm because the mildew to which it is susceptible was too ugly to look at.

But according to field trials, if conditions are right, few bee balms are immune.

My second was to start investigating the merits of bee balms and other members of the Monarda genus.

Some 40 years ago, her mother planted it, laying out its beds of day lilies, bee balm, foxgloves and phloxes.

Once it has infected one bee balm, however, it can spread to other monardas at a gallop.

The Winnebago used a tea made from bee balm as a general stimulant.

Powdery mildew has already struck my bee balm, so my next question concerned control measures.

There are too many other plants that I could not live without, like day lilies, old-fashioned roses, bee balm and sedums.

In the case of the bee balm, however, there have been several varieties that seem to show mildew resistance.

This is probably how various varieties of bee balm (Monarda) were found to be somewhat resistant to mildew.