Raspberry Wine opens wine-red flowers from raspberry buds on stems that reach 3 to 4 feet, and the foliage stays clean when other bee balms grey out with mildew. Monarda Raspberry Wine is a native selection growing 2 to 3 feet wide in full sun to part sun, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 9.
Bloom comes in midsummer in shaggy tubular heads, and hummingbirds feed at them steadily. Bees and butterflies come to them too, and the foliage feeds hummingbird clearwing moth caterpillars.
The leaves are aromatic, releasing a mint-like scent when crushed, which is what keeps deer off it.
Bee balm grows wild in moist meadows and along stream edges, so it wants consistent moisture and takes wet ground. Full sun and room for air movement give the best mildew resistance, and crowding is what brings it on. It spreads by runners into a wider clump, so divide every few years.