I don't worry to much about the mildew - yes, it strikes, but I don't let it
make me crazy.
BUT - I don't lose mine, I have a many year old planting of Blue Stocking
that is still going strong!
Cheryl

On 5/4/04 12:23 PM, in article , "Sue"
wrote:

Chris, IMHO Bee Balm will mildew no matter what steps I take. Full sun,
part sun, wet, dry-- doesn't seem to matter. I've had most every
color/cultivar thats come down the pipeline, nnd its all petered out in a
short time period, a couple of years is the most I seem to get from any
planting I've ever done.

Just a few days ago I found a small clump of new Bee Balm sprouts beside the
Garage in a place that used to be a dumping ground for spent plants from a
temporary greenhouse. Hope Springs Eternal, yannow ( lol) so I transplanted
the clump to a newly dug bed, afternoon sun. We'll see what happens.

Not much help, I know ( and sorry for that) but I thought you might
appreciate some commiseration, ;-).

I'm in the Western Maine foothills where it was 80 on Sunday, snow squalls
today, Z 5 also.

Sue


--
Breeze ( sue burnham)
"Chris Jung" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,
In the past three years since we bought our house I've been experimenting
with different plantings here and there. Our lot is mostly shady (varies
from dappled to deep shade) with a few areas that get steady sun for about
5
to 6 hours. I made up my "sunny" flower garden in one spot that gets about
6
hours of sun (from 9 to 3:45). Most of the stuff I planted there
(foxglove,
sweet William, daylilies, clematis) are doing well except for the bee balm
I
planted two years ago. It's growing (and spreading) but it gets powdery
mildew every summer which ruins most the flowers. I think I've read that
bee balm likes to be in a moist spot and that powdery mildew is a sign
that
it's being kept in a too dry location. Sort of opposite of what I had
thought. I would rather have plants that didn't need special treatments to
stay healthy so it's either transplant the bee balm to a better location
or
just rip it out.

I do have some spots that are nearly always moist (along a ditch which has
running water all year unless we have a drought) and along the length it
varies from dappled shade to 6-7 hours sun. So if I was to transplant my
bee
balm, where should I put it?

Chris in Lovely Ithaca NY, zone 5 I believe