I picked up bee balm at Lowes, thinking it was an annual flower. I tried looking up information and I'm finding Herb and Shrub terms used for it. Is it a flower,shrub, herb, or all 3 in 1? 😆

What exactly is it, and does it come back year after year?

Monarda (Bee Balm) is a flowering plant in the same family as mint's (notice the square stems, which are a trait of the family). Many are perennial in many zones and will come back year after year.

Coming from Lowes there is a good chance that what you got is Monarda didyma. You can get much more info on that plant here... Bee Balm (Monarda didyma).

For info on other Monarda varieties you can see this page... The Bee Balms Database

It really depends on which species you have, some are annual and some are perennial. I think they are all classified as herbaceous (herb).

Horntoad said:It really depends on which species you have, some are annual and some are perennial. I think they are all classified as herbaceous (herb).

That's true. I made a bad assumption as I've never noticed Lowes selling annual Monarda's before.

It was just labeled bee balm, no word as to perennial or annual. The leaves are purplish green.