Perennials: bee balm soil prep, 1 by Meredith79

Meredith79 wrote:
Hi woodspirit, you didn't say what your soil is like? I had to ammend my soil for mine. I have sandy soil and it gets dry pretty quickly. What the Bee Balm prefers is a light, well-drained but moist soil, so I needed to add compost with composted manure. They wouldn't be able tospread well in a heavy soil, so compost would need to be added to this type as well. So depending on what you are starting with would determine whether you should amend. I don't know how you water them but overhead watering will cause the mildew earlier and more severley. I have learned my lesson and only use a soaker hose for them. Mine are in a good deal of shade and they multiply quickly, they get sun in early morning with late morning to early afternoon shade. They can take full sun if they are in a consistently moist soil. Hope they do well for you.