wild bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
A genus split is not a placement verdict.
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Yes, wild bergamot is generally rated fire resistant, but North Carolina sources place it in the middle flammability class.
Four recommendations and two medium ratings make up the published picture. Oregon State University Extension profiles wild bergamot among fire-resistant plants suited to Willamette Valley conditions. Fremont County Firewise includes it among plants described as generally low-growing, low-debris, and relatively moist. New Mexico’s Forestry Division recommends it from 5,000 feet through 9,000 feet and above, but not at 4,000 feet, and gives it medium-to-high water needs. FireSmart BC approves it while also flagging it for more research.
The caution comes from North Carolina. Both the 2005 joint guide from NC State, Cooperative Extension, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NC State Extension’s 2025 successor rate wild bergamot medium. On their scales, medium means a mixed result, one step above the low-flammability plants they recommend. Because the later guide succeeds the earlier one, the repeated rating reflects continuity within the same extension program.
Wild bergamot is a perennial in the mint family with high water needs. It is native across broad parts of the United States and hardy to USDA zone 3b. The practical conclusion is qualified: several regional programs accept it for fire-conscious planting, but the medium North Carolina ratings and FireSmart BC’s research flag leave less certainty than the fire-resistant label alone suggests.
- Form
- perennial
- Mature height
- ~4.9 ft
- Water need
- high
- Rated in
- British Columbia; Fremont County, Wyoming; NC; New Mexico +3