Grow Mountain Mint (Pycnantheumum virginianum)

Attract pollinators to your garden with Common Mountain Mint.

Its name is a bit misleading as this plant is native to moist areas not the mountains. Mountain mint can be found growing in wet meadows, swamps and along stream banks and ponds.

White flowers appear on top of sturdy stems in mid to late summer.  You’ll see honeybees, various native bees, wasps, beetles, pearl crescent butterflies and other pollinators visiting the flowers.

Hardy in zones 3 to 7, it prefers full to part sun and tolerates a wide range of soil types. The lower leaves will turn yellow and fall off during drought.

All parts of the plant give off a minty aroma when crushed. This strong minty fragrance may be the reason leaf-eating insects and deer tend to leave this plant be.

Include mountain mint in naturalized areas, meadow gardens, rain gardens, or shoreline plantings.

A bit more information:  Mountain mint spreads by rhizomes forming small colonies of this plant. It also produces small black seeds that are spread by the wind to surrounding areas.

Tags

flowers-ornamental-grasses fragrant moisture-loving rain-garden

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