What Not to Plant With Bee Balm?

Bee balm is a vibrant plant that can add beauty to your garden with its bright and colorful blooms. They also attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds that make the garden more lively. If you want to grow this plant in your garden, it is extremely important to understand how the plant thrives. It is important to know the plants you should avoid planting with bee balm because incompatible plants can harm the garden. Wrong companion plants can lead to issues like aggressive spreading, mildew growth, and competition for nutrients. To help you understand "what not to plant with bee balm", we have curated a list of such plants. 8 Types of Plants to Avoid Growing with Bee Balm:

Aggressive Plants

Bee balm itself is an aggressive spreader as it quickly spreads through rhizomes and chokes out the small, delicate plants. Therefore, it is not a good idea to grow other aggressive plants alongside, as it will lead to overcrowding and resource depletion. Here is a list of aggressive invaders that you should avoid growing with bee balm:

• Barberry

• Bungleweed

• Burning bush

• English ivy

• Chinese wisteria

• Privit

• Kudzu

• Lantana

• Oriental Bittersweets

• Sweet Autumn Clematis

Heavy Feeders

Heavy feeding plants need a lot of nutrients, especially nitrogen. Therefore, it's best to avoid such plants near bee balm because they will compete for nutrients with bee balm, which will affect the growth of bee balm.  Here is a list of heavy feeders that you should not plant alongside bee balm:

• Corn

• Cucumbers

• Melons

• Peppers

• Squash

• Sunflowers

• Tomatoes

• Zucchini 

Plants That Block Sunlight

While bee balm can grow in partial sunlight, it needs full sunlight to thrive. Therefore, it is important to avoid plants that block sunlight to ensure bee balm gets enough sunlight for healthy growth. Here is a list of plants to avoid planting with bee balm, as they grow and block the sunlight:

• Buckthorn

• Clematis

• Flowering dogwood

• Pyracantha

• Southern live oak

• Weeping podocarpus

• White spruce

Plants That Easily Develop Mildew

Powdery mildew can stress and weaken the bee balm plant. It is a fungus that deposits gray or white powder on the bee balm leaves and causes stress to the plant and weakening it. Therefore, it is advised not to plant bee balm near these plants. Though pruning affects leaves or even applying fungicide can help, it's best to simply avoid growing these plants near bee balm. Here is a list of plants to avoid:

• Crab apple trees

• Cucumbers

• Delphinium

• Garden phlox

• Lilacs

• Roses

• Squash

• Zinnias

Plants That Grow In Dry Conditions

Bee balm enjoys evenly moist soil, so it is not a good idea to grow it with plants that prefer dry conditions. This is because if the soil is too moist, it can lead to root rot of the companion plant, and if the soil is too dry, bee balm will suffer. Therefore, choose a place where there's a good humidity level with proper air circulation. Here is a list of plants that prefer dry, well-drained conditions but won't survive with bee balm:

• Succulents

• Lavender

• Sedum

• Russian sage

Plants From the Mint Family

Bee balm themselves are from the mint family that spreads aggressively, so it's better to avoid growing another plant from the mint family near the bee balm plant. If grown alongside, they will face difficulty in growing as they will compete for water, sunlight, and space. Here are some plants from the mint family that you should avoid planting near bee balm:

• Apple mint

• Chocolate mint

• Orange mint

• Peppermint

• Spearmint

• Wild mint

Vegetables

Growing vegetables with bee balm is a bad choice, as many vegetables divert nutrients away from the bee balm. There are some heavy feeding vegetables that can weaken the growth of bee balm. Below are a few vegetables that you should not grow with bee balm:

• Corn

• Melons

• Tomatoes

• Beets

• Broccoli

• Cabbage

• Carrots

Allelopathic Plant Species

Allelopathic plants such as sunflowers and goldenrods release harmful chemicals into the soil that can affect the growth of their surrounding plants. Hence, it is dangerous to plant allelopathic plants near bee balm, as they may harm and kill the bee balm plant.

Conclusion

Bee balm is a vibrant plant that can make the garden look even more beautiful. But it needs the right conditions and environment to thrive well. Thus, it is important that you don't grow plants that can hamper the growth of bee balm, as it needs nutrients and sunlight. By avoiding the plants listed above, you can grow bee balm without any disturbance from neighboring species.