The Upscale monarda series from Proven Winners packs native DNA from 23 states and Canada with three colors: Pink Chenille, Lavender Taffeta and Red Velvet.
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By Norman Winter
Stop the presses and throw all of your preconceived notions about the monarda or bee balm out the door. I swear, I have had marigolds taller than these new monardas. I have more flowers now on my monardas than I normally get from an entire season’s bloom. I am talking about the Leading Lady series.
First know that 2021 is the National Garden Bureau’s Year of the Monarda. Whether you are talking Monarda didyma, Monarda fistulosa or Monarda punctata, they are all U.S. natives. That means these new hybrids coming to us from Proven Winners are native DNA.
Sitting on the couch sometime last winter with my trusty perennial catalog in hand, I gawked over the Pyromania Red Hot Pokers, or torch lilies. We grew Re