Houzz contributor. I'm the author of several books including Sleep, Creep, Leap: The First Three Years of a Nebraska Garden. I manage Monarch Gardens, a native prairie garden consulting business for homeowners, schools and small businesses, and serve on the board for Wachiska Audubon, a prairie conservation group. A professor of English, I garden in Lincoln, Nebraska (zone 5) with an award-winning 2,000 square feet of native plants, and blog about writing and gardening at The Deep Middle.

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I like it when I can suggest a U.S. Central Plains native plant that's as tough as nails and as important as oxygen. Mountain mint can take almost anything and thrive while being a bona fide nectar source for pretty much every insect in existence. Plus, the leaves smell fantastic — I rub them on the backs of my hands so I can bring the garden with me wherever I go. Leave the plant up for winter to shelter birds and give the garden four seasons of life, then sow the seeds any time of year for easy and gorgeous blooms.

by Benjamin Vogt »

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Botanical name: Pycnanthemum virginianum
Common name: Mountain mint
Origin: Native to the Central Plains, northern and eastern Midwest, and New England
USDA zones: 3 to 7 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Moist to dry (it's adaptable)
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: Slowly spreading clump to several feet
Benefits and tolerances: Insect magnet (every kind visits); leaves are great for tea; easily dividable and shareable
Seasonal interest: Tons of long-blooming flowers from mid- to late summer. In winter the gray seed heads look like little poms.
When to plant: Spring to fall

by Benjamin Vogt »

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Distinguishing traits. Brush by this plant and you'll be minty, yet unlike other mints this species is not aggressive. Butterflies, bees, moths, beetles ... everyone comes for a visit, especially insects you've never seen before. I suggest grabbing your kids and cataloging the unique insect species that drop by — the range is unlike any other native perennial's.

How to use it. A good moon garden plant, too, mountain mint takes almost any soil from dry to wet, sandy to clay based, and prefers full sun to a 50/50 mix of sun and shade. This is a native that helps out insect populations — songbirds depend upon it to feed their young — and is easily shared with friends as a division or as a tea or baking ingredient.

by Benjamin Vogt »

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Planting notes. In winter the flower heads hold microscopic seeds deep within, and they still smell minty all through the snows and rains.

If you don't like dividing plants, take the supereasy route: Just crumple the flower heads between your hands over bare soil to release the seeds. They don't need any cold stratification or pretreatment, so even in spring you can go out and spread them on the soil's warm surface.

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Comments

scarbowcow I've never heard of this, and don't know how it would thrive in central Europe (if I could get the seeds), but your article almost made me smell the plant as I was reading. Most intriguing and attractive.

5 months ago · Like ·

Benjamin Vogt Scarbowcow -- I urge you to find a native plant similar to this, at all possible. I doubt this mountain mint is native to central Europe. The importance of native plants is that they sustain native populations of wildlife, especially insects, which are the base of the food chain for many animals and provide key pollination for plants (songbirds are on the decline globally as native habitat is lost, and rely almost solely on insects to feed their young). I'm sure there must be lots of options for your region, though I'm unfamiliar with your area or the horticultural resources you'd need to find. If you move to the American Great Plains, I can hook you up, though! :)

5 months ago · Like ·

Lynn Yenkey Thank you! I am planning a hell strip garden on the South Side of Chicago, and wouldn't have thought of this but it just might work. When in upstate NY, I coveted P. muticum, but when I finally got one, it didn't do much, even in full sun (in well-amended topsoil over clay). P. pilosum did better for me in a sun bed meant to need little watering or care. How tall will this get? I gotta keep a view open for the drivers...thanks again. Lynn from Sin City to Slaterville blog, and missing the hills and sticks of NY something fierce.

5 months ago · Like

Benjamin Vogt It's about 2' tall. And a behaved plant. A hell strip may or may not work--let us know!

5 months ago · Like

xenasmom Where do I find seeds? Would this grown in Central PA?

4 months ago · Like

Benjamin Vogt Xenasmom, according to the USDA database, this species of mountain mint is native to PA (and further east). I'd first suggest googling seed and plant sources for your city and region--it's always best to find nearby sources of seed to keep genetic purity in the local environment. I know my university extension and hort program have native plant sales, and I'm sure there must be nurseries near you that have natives. If those don't work, Prairie Moon Nursery (MN) and Prairie Nursery (WI) should have this plant in seed or potted up.

4 months ago · Like

hillonthehouse In the mountains of North Carolina we have Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum), which is my favorite. Our wild volunteers bloom lavender pink and the leaves are dusted with silver - a very pretty combination. Sometimes even the leaves turn pinkish gray. It can get tall and leggy and is very prolific in our rocky soil. But I can't help but to crush some leaves for the fragrance as I walk by, and, as you say, they're covered with all kinds of insects including butterflies and moths.

4 months ago · Like ·

mollythecollie Would this grow in the Pacific Northwest? or would it be considered an invasive plant there, since it can easily be grown from the seeds. Thank you.

4 months ago · Like

Benjamin Vogt Molly, it's not native to the pnw, so I would not plant it. Local insect species will not be adapted to it -- I am a staunch advocate for native plants in your region. For local species guides I'd suggest horticultural extensions at local public universities, and check out the Pollinator Partnership which has regional native plant guides that benefit local wildlife and create quite a show for you.

4 months ago · Like ·

mollythecollie Thank You Benjamin. I will check out the Pollinator Partnership. I definitely do not want to grow anything that is not native to this area. Just added the website to my favorites. I had never heard of them before. Thank you again.

4 months ago · Like ·

acburke Xenasmom, Edge of the Woods Nursery about 10 miles from Allentown, PA specializes in plants native to PA. Here is the web address: www.edgeofthewoodsnursery.com. I believe I saw mountain mint there. If not, they can probably tell you where to get it.

4 months ago · Like

mariedmorrison I live in a northwest suburb of Chicago and I have a patch of Mountain Mint by my vegetable garden. I want to give a small warning to keep an eye on this mint. It has strong, mildly aggressive roots that will spread. It is not what I would call invasive but after a few years it can become a large clump. That being said, I am happy that I have this plant. Pollinators LOVE it! I just keep an eye on the clump by root pruning and dead heading before winter.

4 months ago · Like ·