Horse-mint

Year-round

Spotted beebalm is a Texas native wildflower in the mint family, known for whorls of pale yellow, purple-spotted blooms and a strong oregano-like smell.

• It's native to the Cross Timbers and Blackland Prairie regions of North Texas, so it belongs in a native or pollinator garden here.
• Give it full sun and dry to average, well-drained soil. Sandy or loamy soil is best, but it can handle clay if drainage is decent.
• Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators visit it a lot, and it's a larval host for a couple of moth species.
• It's short-lived, often acting more like a two-year plant than a long-term perennial, but it reseeds easily so a patch usually keeps itself going.
• Powdery mildew can show up in humid, still air. Good spacing and plenty of sun help keep it off the leaves.
• ASPCA does not have a listing for this specific plant, so we can't say for sure whether it's toxic to dogs or cats. Keep new plants out of reach of pets until you know more.

Fall

Fall is when blooming winds down and the plant sets seed for next year's patch.

• Flowering tapers off through fall. Let some seed heads mature if you want the patch to fill back in on its own next year.
• A light fall cutback gives a tidier look, but leaving a few stems standing gives insects a place to shelter over winter.
• This plant often only lives a year or two, so don't be surprised if older plants fade out even as new seedlings take their place.
• Cut back on watering as temperatures drop. Let the soil dry out some between waterings.

A light fall cutback gives a tidy look through winter, though leaving some stems up is better for the moths that use this plant.

Winter

Winter is dormant season. The plant dies back to the ground and there's little to do.

• Foliage dies back after hard freezes. That's normal for this plant, not a sign of a problem.
• Leave the dried stems standing through winter if you can. They shelter overwintering pollinators and the moth larvae that use this plant.
• No watering or fertilizing needed while it's dormant.
• New growth comes back from the roots or from self-sown seedlings once the weather warms up in spring.

Leaving dried stems up over winter is less tidy than a full cutback, but it supports the moths that use this plant. A fall cutback covers the tidy look if that matters more to you.

Spring

Spring is when new growth comes up, either from an established crown or from last year's self-sown seedlings.

• New shoots show up in mid to late spring. Thin out crowded seedlings now if you want fewer, sturdier plants instead of one dense patch.
• Keep soil evenly moist while young plants are establishing, then ease off once they're growing well.
• Skip the fertilizer. Rich soil tends to make this plant floppy and more prone to mildew.
• If old dried stems from last year are still standing, this is a good time to cut them back and clear space for new growth.

Cutting back last year's dried stems now keeps a front bed tidy as new growth starts.

Summer

Summer is bloom season, when spotted beebalm puts on its main flower show and pulls in pollinators.

• Blooms run through summer into fall, with pale yellow, purple-spotted flowers stacked in whorls up the stem.
• It's drought tolerant once established, but an occasional deep soak in the hottest stretches keeps flowering going strong.
• Deadhead spent flower spikes to keep new blooms coming and to control how much it reseeds.
• Check the base of the plant for powdery mildew after humid weather. Space plants out and water the soil, not the leaves.

Deadheading spent blooms through summer keeps the plant looking tidy instead of leggy in a front-yard bed.

Year-round

Spotted beebalm is a Texas native wildflower in the mint family, known for whorls of pale yellow, purple-spotted blooms and a strong oregano-like smell.

• It's native to the Cross Timbers and Blackland Prairie regions of North Texas, so it belongs in a native or pollinator garden here.
• Give it full sun and dry to average, well-drained soil. Sandy or loamy soil is best, but it can handle clay if drainage is decent.
• Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators visit it a lot, and it's a larval host for a couple of moth species.
• It's short-lived, often acting more like a two-year plant than a long-term perennial, but it reseeds easily so a patch usually keeps itself going.
• Powdery mildew can show up in humid, still air. Good spacing and plenty of sun help keep it off the leaves.
• ASPCA does not have a listing for this specific plant, so we can't say for sure whether it's toxic to dogs or cats. Keep new plants out of reach of pets until you know more.

Fall

Fall is when blooming winds down and the plant sets seed for next year's patch.

• Flowering tapers off through fall. Let some seed heads mature if you want the patch to fill back in on its own next year.
• A light fall cutback gives a tidier look, but leaving a few stems standing gives insects a place to shelter over winter.
• This plant often only lives a year or two, so don't be surprised if older plants fade out even as new seedlings take their place.
• Cut back on watering as temperatures drop. Let the soil dry out some between waterings.

A light fall cutback gives a tidy look through winter, though leaving some stems up is better for the moths that use this plant.

Winter

Winter is dormant season. The plant dies back to the ground and there's little to do.

• Foliage dies back after hard freezes. That's normal for this plant, not a sign of a problem.
• Leave the dried stems standing through winter if you can. They shelter overwintering pollinators and the moth larvae that use this plant.
• No watering or fertilizing needed while it's dormant.
• New growth comes back from the roots or from self-sown seedlings once the weather warms up in spring.

Leaving dried stems up over winter is less tidy than a full cutback, but it supports the moths that use this plant. A fall cutback covers the tidy look if that matters more to you.

Spring

Spring is when new growth comes up, either from an established crown or from last year's self-sown seedlings.

• New shoots show up in mid to late spring. Thin out crowded seedlings now if you want fewer, sturdier plants instead of one dense patch.
• Keep soil evenly moist while young plants are establishing, then ease off once they're growing well.
• Skip the fertilizer. Rich soil tends to make this plant floppy and more prone to mildew.
• If old dried stems from last year are still standing, this is a good time to cut them back and clear space for new growth.

Cutting back last year's dried stems now keeps a front bed tidy as new growth starts.

Summer

Summer is bloom season, when spotted beebalm puts on its main flower show and pulls in pollinators.

• Blooms run through summer into fall, with pale yellow, purple-spotted flowers stacked in whorls up the stem.
• It's drought tolerant once established, but an occasional deep soak in the hottest stretches keeps flowering going strong.
• Deadhead spent flower spikes to keep new blooms coming and to control how much it reseeds.
• Check the base of the plant for powdery mildew after humid weather. Space plants out and water the soil, not the leaves.

Deadheading spent blooms through summer keeps the plant looking tidy instead of leggy in a front-yard bed.