Wild Bergamot (Monarda spp.) on the west side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street

NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week--June 28, 2011
Wild Bergamot (Monarda spp.) on the west side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street

NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week
By Head Gardener, George Reis
Tuesday June 28, 2011
Wild Bergamot (Monarda spp.) on the west side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Here's a patch of Wild Bergamot (Monarda spp.) we planted in 2009 under the Amelanchier trees behind Coles.  Monarda is an easy-to-grow native and they're known to attract hummingbirds and butterflies (especially Fritillaries).   New varieties are much better at resisting powdery mildew than the straight species plants, so they're more useful these days in the perennial garden. Monardas generally like moist, fertile soil, but these Monardas behind Coles are doing quite well under trees in a lean soil, so they can adapt to a variety of conditions.

According to William Cullina essential reference Wildfowers, "Wild Bergamot has an odor similar to the true Bergamot that flavors Earl Grey tea (a species of citrus from the Mediterranean) and was used as a substitute for it as well as in medicinal infusions." Also, according to North Creek Nursery in Pennsylvania where we bought these plants as plugs: "The genus is named after Nicolas Monardes, the Spanish physician and botanist who first described the South American genus Nasturtium."

Previous Plants of the Week:

Hearts of Gold Redbud
June 21, 2011
Hearts of Gold Redbud (Cercis canadensis 'Hearts of Gold') in the west section of the Bleecker Street sidewalk at #3 Washington Square Village.

Russian Sage
June 15, 2011
Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) in the middle section of the Bleecker Street sidewalk between #3 and #4 Washington Square Village.

Oakleaf Hydrangea
June 8, 2011
Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) in the lobby garden at #3 Washington Square Village.

Wild Indigo
May 31, 2011
Wild Indigo (Baptisia Australis) in Mercer Plaza, 251 Mercer Street.

Arkansas Blue Star
May 24, 2011
Arkansas Blue Star (Amsonia hubrichtii) on the west side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer St.

Sunny Knock Out Rose
May 17, 2011
Sunny Knock Out Rose (Rosa 'Radsunny') at 251 Mercer St.

Red Ruby Swiss Chard
May 10, 2011
Red Ruby Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris 'Ruby Chard') sidewalk planters on Greene Street between W 4th Street and Washington Place.

Wild Columbine
May 3, 2011
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) at Founders Hall, 120 East 12th St.

Japanese Flowering Cherry
April 25, 2011
Japanese Flowering Cherry (Prunus serrulata), or 'Kwanzan,' on the Bleecker Street side of Cole Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Saucer Magnolia
April 19, 2011
Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana)   

Daffodil
April 12, 2011
Daffodil (Narcissus spp.) in the sidewalk median at 100 Bleecker Street.

Lenten Rose
April 5, 2011
Lenten Rose (Helleborus x hybridus) in the sidewalk median at 100 Bleecker Street.

Camellia
March 29, 2011
Camellia 'April Remembered' (Camellia japonica 'April Remembered') at Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Japanese Maple
Mar 22, 2011 
Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku') at Glucksman Ireland House

Hamamelis
Mar 18, 2011 
NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week---Witch-hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) at #2 Washington Square Village Lobby Garden. (interior of Washington Square Village, W 3rd Street just west of Mercer)

Crocus Species
Mar 8, 2011
Crocus species mix on Bleecker Street side of NYU Coles Sports Center

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