My first home in Vermont had a huge patch of bee balm growing right outside my bedroom window. I’d wake up to a flurry of hummingbirds in the summer, arguing over the nectar inches from my window glass.
There was never a need to put up a hummingbird feeder, the bee balm took care of it for me and provided for endless hours of entertainment in the summer.
But bee balm doesn’t just feed the birds and the bees. It’s a potent medicinal and a tasty edible too.
There are two main varieties, Mondarda didyma, or scarlet bee balm is what you’ll see most commonly in garden perennial beds. Mondarda fistulosa, or wild bergamot, is the wild version native to the United States.
Both species are edible and medicinal and have similar properties. They also both grow readily from seed, and you can find cultivated bee balm seed here and wild bee balm seed here.
Medicinal Properties of Bee Balm
Bee balm is antimicrobial and soothing, so it’s often used to treat colds and flu. It also has a soothing effect on the digestive tract and helps to treat indigestion, bloating and nausea. It’s more than just soothing on the digestive system and its antispasmodic properties also help it treat menstrual cramps as well as coughs.
Externally, it’s used to treat scrapes, stings and rashes.
Bee balm is also nervine, that has a gentle calming effect on the nervous system, similar to lemon balm. It’s used to treat anxiety and stress, especially in sensitive patients like children.
Bee Balm Tea
The individual petals of bee balm flowers pull out easily and can be dried to make a beautiful bright red tea. In season, the petals can also be used fresh.
Bee balm tea is a digestive aid that helps relieve nausea, upset stomach and gas.
Like most herbal teas, it takes a bit longer to steep than a standard black tea, around 15 minutes. Try 1 tablespoon of dried flower petals or 2 tablespoons of fresh petals to every cup of water. The water should be just below the boiling point because herbal flowers are a bit more delicate than teas made with roots or stems.
Bee Balm Oxymel
Oxymels are a mix of herbs, vinegar and honey that’s used like a raw cough syrup or taken by the spoonful as a herbal remedy. The effects vary by the herb chosen. We make an elderberry oxymel every year to fend off colds and flu. Bee Balm Oxymel is antimicrobial and is used as a treatment for colds and congestion.
Bee Balm Salve
Since bee balm is naturally antimicrobial, it also makes a great herbal salve. Start by making a herbal infused oil using bee balm, and then use that infused oil to make a simple salve by thickening it with beeswax. The basic ratio is 1 ounce of beeswax to 8 ounces of infused oil.
Bee Balm Herbal Steams
Not only does bee balm smell wonderful, a herbal sachet used to make a herbal steam can help clear your nasal passages. Bee balm has a lot of thymol, the same constituent that makes thyme a natural decongestant.
Adding some of the dry herb to a bath can have the same effect.
Bee Balm Poultice
A poultice made from boiled bee balm leaves were “historically wrapped in cloth for sore eyes, headaches, muscle spasms, fungal infections, and under bandages to slow bleeding” according to the herbal academy.
Bee Balm Tincture
Since bee balm has nervine properties that help calm the nervous system, an established way to reap the benefits is as a tincture. Fill a jar with bee balm and cover with a neutral alcohol such as vodka. Store in a cool dark place for at least a month and then strain.
Bee Balm Mouth Wash
Used as a mouthwash, bee balm is a treatment for sore throats and mouth sores. The leaves were chewed on battlefields and used for this purpose. To ensure it keeps, add a bit of bee balm tincture to prevent spoilage.
Bee Balm Jelly
You can bring out the natural sweetness of bee balm by making a floral jelly for use on toast or muffins. A herbal hedgerow jelly can be made using a mix of edible flowers and herbs from your yard. It’s a great way to add a bit of terroir or “taste of place” to your breakfast.
Fresh Bee Balm Petals harvested as a salad topper.
Bee Balm Salad Toppers
To add color, nutrition and flavor to summer salads, try adding a few bee balm petals. The delicate herbal flavor compliments micro greens and mesclun salads beautifully, but might not be as appropriate for a romaine lettuce-based salad.
Bee Balm Vinegar
Quick and easy, infuse some bee balm petals into raw apple cider vinegar to use as medicine or simply add it to salad dressings and marinades. It’s supposed to be particularly good on game meats.
Bee Balm Mead
A simple bee balm tea could be quickly converted to a small batch mead in a quart jar. Just add 1 cup of honey to 3 cups of bee balm tea, along with a yeast packet. Allow it to ferment with a mason jar fermentation kit for 6 weeks and bottle in flip top Grolsch bottles. If you need more convincing, here’s some great reasons to make small batch mead.
Bee Balm Bread, Muffins or Cookies
I love the idea of making bread or muffins with edible flowers. I’ve run across a simple yeasted bee balm bread recipe, but I’m hoping to make some simple bee balm muffins or bee balm shortbread this summer. I’ve made thyme shortbread cookies before, and bee balm has some of the same flavor compounds to add a bit of herbal intrigue to cookies.
Maria Zannini
Thank you for this! My friend just gifted me with three bee balm plants. I couldn’t get over how reminiscent the aroma is of oregano.
I had no idea you could use it for so many other things.
Babe Noel
So excited to find all of the amazing uses for Bee Balm! We have a pretty big patch of her along a trail line. Thanks for all the great info!!
Jenn
Bee Balm is also known as “Oswego Tea” because the Oswego Indians here in NY taught the settlers to use the dried leaves as a tea substitute, So apparently it’s not just the flowers that are useful.
Mary Ballard
This is wonderful information! I can’t wait to put this lovely plant to good use!
Helaine Chersonsky
Thanks for the useful information about bee balm. I just gathered some of the first of the season; I can’t wait to try out the recipes.
Daphne Gilpin
Thanks for explaining that bee balm has a gentle calming effect, so it can be used to treat anxiety or stress in patients like children who may be more sensitive. My daughter has been suffering from social anxiety at school, so I’ve been doing some research online about natural remedies that might help her. I’m glad I read your article because now I’m excited to shop for monarda essential oil and see if it helps ease her anxiety.
Heather
Just planted my first bee balm plants excited to see future blossoms and growth. Hope to be able to harvest some next year to dry for tea for my 5 girls and I.
Larry
A leaf of bee balm chewed and placed by a toothache stops it from hurting.same goes for yarrow
Donna Pittman
I find the study of the medicinal uses of monarda is fascinating! Another one of God’s gifts!
donna
every year i gather bergamot here in ok. and useually just ground it up and use it for seasoning my food, it has a great flavor! then i came across this info and i made tincture, and oxymel with the bergamot. well, i have been taking a shot of the oxymel daily and i cut myself 4 days ago pretty deeply (most anyone would have went to the ER for stitches) and i cleaned the cut and covered it every day and it is conpletely healed!!! i daresay it is due to the wonderful oxymel i have been consuming. also, my friend who has diabetes and has nerve damage in his feet had punctured his foot very deeply without even realizing it and i took some oxymel to him and after 3 days he said it looks almost completely healed!! almost unheard of. i am a firm believer in this medicine. thank you so much for sharing!!!!
Diana
Are you using the petals and leaves in the oils, tinctures and such or just the petals? This was a most interesting article. Thank you.
Ashley Adamant
I just use the petals, but I imagine the leaves would work as well for tinctures. (But I don’t know for sure about the leaves, all references I’ve read have been about the flowers.)
Margo
I just planted my first Bee Balm plant and after reading these reviews, and seeing the beautiful red flowers I must get a few more starts to plant.
Happy plantings!! Margo Oberer
Carole Carlton
Do you use whole flower head or just the petal for tincture?
Admin
You can use the entire plant when making tinctures.
Sarah
I have lavender bee balm can this be used the same as the red bee balm. Thank you for your help
Sherri
I absolutely love it in beef stews and roasts. I cut off a step with 5-6 leaves and just toss it in. So much depth to the dishes. And yes, you can eat it raw.
Lisa
I bought 3 small plants at a Asian market here in southern CA. It said cucumber lol. Grew into huge bushes in my garden. So delicious. I Identified it with an app. I love the unique taste and just graze on it a little everyday. It is calming.
Admin
I’m so glad you’re enjoying your bee balm, Lisa!
Tamara Tapp-Wilkerson
I purchased 2 bee balm plants from my local Lowe’s hardware and when they bloomed one bloomed scarlet and the other bloomed lavender, are they both okay to use in herbal recipes.
Administrator
That’s very interesting. My guess would be that the one with the scarlet blooms is Mondarda didyma. This is what you’ll see most commonly in garden perennial beds. My guess is that the lavender one is Mondarda fistulosa, or wild bergamot. This one is the wild version native to the United States.