Wild bergamot is an aromatic, erect, short-hairy, perennial herb with slender branching rhizomes. Leaves are opposite, tirangular with entire to coarsely toothed margins. Flowers are pink up to 3" wide and borne at the ends of branches. Bloom time is June through September. Photos courtesy Duane Graham and Jeri Schrag
Interesting Notes Dried leaves of wild bergamot makes a tasty tea.
Growing Tips Wild bergamot is a widely adaptable perennial. It grows in soil from wet to dry but it prefers a medium to moist site in full sun. It will spread by rhizomes and fill up a small area in just a couple. Give it room to spread, it will be worth the effort.
Wild bergamot grows in rocky tallgrass and mixed grass prairies, open woods, and in pastures in the eastern half of the southern Great Plains and throughout much of the northern Great Plains.
