A Beginner's Guide To Mountain Mint - Types, Grow/Care, Landscaping

If you're looking for a plant to attract bees and butterflies, then planting Mountain Mints needs to be one of your first choices. But what exactly is mountain mint? Well, there are a number of species that fall under this umbrella, or rather within the pycnanthemum genus, all of which are native to North America covering different regions. In this article I will attempt to demystify and simplify your understanding of the most common species you may encounter with the largest ranges. And I will cover where they live, their characteristics, and what their preferred growing conditions are so you can select the perfect type for your yard. And there is a mountain mint for just about any setting - heck I grow five different species in my garden alone! What is? Benefits Different types of Mountain Mint Growing conditions Identification Landscaping Tips How to grow from seed Where to purchase Final thoughts What are Mountain Mints? A Mountain Mint is any flower in the Pycnanthemum genus. Each Mountain Mint species has silvery or white flowers, sometimes with pink or purple accents[1][2][3]. Many species have white or silver leaves just beneath the flowers too. And all of their foliage that has a distinct minty aroma when torn. These plants all produce huge amounts of nectar that can keep pollinators filled up with energy all day long. And it will truly attract the widest possible range of pollinators to your yard - ones that you probably have never seen before. The nectar is just too irresistible. The benefits of planting Mountain Mints Mountain mint has two primary benefits that make them stand out against nearly any other type of plant. They attract an absolutely huge number of pollinators They are 100% deer and rabbit resistant plants Pollinators There pretty much isn't a better flower for bringing in the widest variety and quantity of pollinator species. If the intro video above wasn't enough, we can always check on floral surveys[4][5]. And it's not just me saying that - surveys consistently show how different species of mountainmint are nearly the most popular species of flower. Deer and rabbits will not TOUCH mountain mint While we love the pleasing minty aroma of mountain mint, deer, rabbits and pretty much any other herbivore do not. Thus, you have a plant that has it's own deer repellent built right into the leaves. I repeat - deer and rabbits will never eat this plant. Different types of Mountain Mints Now, in generally all mountain mint flowers look similar. They will have flowerheads with dozens of small tubular or two-lipped flowers that are predominantly white. Often the leaves just below the flowers will have a silver or white 'dusting' that add to the plants aesthetic appeal. I'm going to briefly describe some of the more common types for landscaping below. Blunt Mountain Mint This species (P. muticum) is often called 'blunt' or 'clustered' mountain mint. While the flowers are nice, they aren't overly showy by themselves. I find it best to use as a 'background' or accompanying plant for more showy flowers like Liatris, Echinacea, or Bee Balms. That being said, it is drought tolerant and will stand in almost any setting. And, it has repeatedly been shown to be one of the absolute best attracter of pollinators of any type of flower (even among the mountain mints). Hairy Mountain Mint One of the taller species available for landscaping, Hairy Mountain Mint is a showy drought tolerant species. It is very easy to grow, and the foliage is identifiable over other types in that that leaves aren't wide ovate or lanceolate, but also not narrow-linear leaves like Virginia or Narrow/Thin leaf mountain mint. Hoary or Silverleaf Mountain Mint This species is fairly adaptable in that it can grow well in partial shade as well as full sun, and it is quite showy, especially because of it's silver leaves just below the blooms. However, it can get leggy in fertile soils or part-sun situations, so best to give it the Chelsea Chop. Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint The species commonly known as Narrow or Thin-Leaf Mountain Mint has attractive foliage that is dark green and is a bit on the shorter side, usually around 2' tall. But it is one of the best choices for landscaping in that it generally stays erect, and it is crazy good at bringing in large butterflies. In fact I think this is probably the best of all mountain mints attracting the big swallowtails. Virginia Mountain Mint The foliage and flowers of Virginia Mountain Mint looks quite similar to Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint, but this one is a bit showier. Probably the most attractive of all mountain mints, it is probably the most popular too. Pycnanthemum virginianum with Growing conditions of different types of Mountain Mint In this section and the table below I tried to group the main characteristics and growing conditions. If you want to grow mountain mint, it is important that you match the growing conditions of your flower bed to a species that likes, or tolerates the same conditions. And don't tell anyone, but that is the secret to having a green thumb.....matching plants to growing conditions that they like. Note - if you need a refresher on sunlight conditions, you can head over to our guide on that topic. But in short, based on my experience Virginia Mountain Mint is the best mountain mint for landscaping as it always stands tall, attracts numerous pollinators, and is just about the showiest of all Mountain Mints. A close second place would be Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint, as it does the best for attracting large butterflies, and 3rd would be Blunt Mountain Mint as it always stands tall but isn't quite as showy. If you combine different species, you can extend your 'mint' bloom time to go from June all the way into September. For example, Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint is just about the earliest species to bloom in late Spring, while Hoary Mountain Mint is the latest in August-September. SpeciesCommon NameHeight//SpacingSunlightMoistureSoil Texture/typeNative RangePycnanthemum albescensWhite Leaf Mountain Mint2'-3' tall // 2' spacingFull to part-shadeMedium-moistSand, Rocky, or clayPycnanthemum incanumHoary Mountainmint3'-6' tall // 2'-4' spacingFull to part-shadeDry to mediumSandy loam - clay loam (well drained)Pycnanthemum loomisiiLoomis Mountain Mint1'-4' tall // 1'-3' spacingPartial shadeDry to mediumLoam, Rocky, Clay (must be well drained)Pycnanthemum muticumBlunt or Clustered Mountain Mint1'-3' tall // 1'-3' spacingFull to part-shadeMediumSandy loam to clay loam (well-drained)Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoidesSouthern Mountain Mint3-6' tall // 18"-24" spacingFull to part-shadeDry to mediumSandy to clayPycnanthemum tenuifoliumNarrow Leaf Mountain Mint2'-4' tall // 1.5'-3' spacingFull sun to part-shadeDry to moistSandy, rocky, or clay soilPycnanthemum verticillatumHairy Mountain Mint1'-4' tall // 1'-2' spacingFull to part-shadeDry to mediumSandy loam to clay loamPycnanthemum virginianumVirginia Mountain Mint2'-3' tall // 12"-18" spacingFull sun to part shadeMediumSandy loam to clay loam Reference Table for identification of mountain mints If you want to identify some mountain mint you find out in nature, the table below should be of help. Although I must say that there is a lot of overlap in characteristics. But, if nothing else you should be able to differentiate the narrow leaf types from the larger lanceolate types. You may notice some missing characteristics in the table below such as leaf arrangement. I left that out because all mountain mint have opposite leaves, and each set along the stalk will be rotated 90 degrees from the previous. Also, all mountain mints have very aromatic leaves and flowers. Don't believe me? Just rub them between your fingers and you will see....I mean smell! SpeciesCommon NameStalkLeavesLeaf imageFlowerFlower imagePycnanthemum albescensWhite Leaf Mountain MintGreen-red, square, hairy/downySimple, green, lanceolate, 1/2" wide x 1-2" long, hairy.White with purple accentsPycnanthemum incanumHoary MountainmintGreen to silver, square, hairySimple, Green-silver-white, Lanceolate to ovate (1-2" wide and long), dentate, hairy.White - purple, lippedPycnanthemum loomisiiLoomis Mountain MintGray-silver, square, hairySimple, Green, Lanceolate-ovate (1-2" wide and long), dentate margin, hairy.White with pink-purple accents, lippedPycnanthemum muticumClustered Mountain MintSquare, green, hairySimple, green, lanceolate, dentate, smooth 1-3"White with purple accents/spotsPycnanthemum pycnanthemoidesSouthern Mountain MintGree, square, hairySimple, green to white, laceolate to ovate, double-serrated margins, hairyWhite with pink or purple accentsPycnanthemum tenuifoliumNarrow Leaf Mountain MintGreen, squareSimple, linear to narrow-lanceolate, 1" long by 1/8" wide, smooth marginWhite with pink accentsPycnanthemum verticillatumHairy Mountain MintGreen, square, hairySimple, green, linear to narrow-lanceolate, 1/8"-1/4" wide by 1-2" longWhite with purple accentsPycnanthemum virginianumVirginia Mountain MintGreen to red, square, hairySimple, green, linear to lanceolate, 1" wide by 1/2" long, smooth margin, hairlessWhite, tubular Landscaping with Mountain Mint Ok - so I have some tips on landscaping with mountain mint that I've learned though experience that you should really pay attention to. I'm breaking them up into sections, and I really encourage you to read carefully, as doing so could prevent you from having some problems I encountered. Learn from my experience! Is Mountain Mint aggressive? In short, yes, Mountain Mint can be considered aggressive, however, they can be contained. But the fact is all mountain mints will spread by seed and underground rhizome. Now, the nice thing about Mountain mint is that it is a clump-forming rhizome as opposed to a true runner like Goldenrod or Black Locust. If planted in the open with some space, you can contain mountain mint without any physical barrier. How to contain it? Well, each Spring the new (spreading) growth will increase the diameter of the plant. To contain it you simply use a shovel to chop away the excess growth that you don't want, and then pull it up. I did this for years on my first mountain mint I grew, Clustered Mountainmint. I actually show exactly how to do this shovel-root-pruning method in this time-stamped video. Containing Mountain Mint in a container But I have to say, after some experimentation there is another solution to containing mountain mints. And no, this isn't just 'plant it in a pot on your porch'. After several years of experimentation I found that mountain mint rhizomes are shallow and do not like to go deep. This allows us to contain it in a garden with a shallow physical barrier. You can do this with regular garden edging or hardscaping that goes 6" deep. Or, you can just use a large container with the bottom cut out. And my secret method for containing aggressive plants would work too. What you do is take a large pot, at least 9" diameter and cut the bottom out. Then, dig a hole and place the container inside of it so that the top edge just rises above the soil or mulch. Make sure the soil is loose and somewhat compacted so that it doesn't settle too much over time. Fill it with dirt, then plant your mountain mint inside of it. I can personally vouch for this method working on four species (P. muticum, P. tenuifolium, P. verticillatum, P. virginianum). And based on the similarities of all mountain mints, I believe it will work, or is at least worth a try on any other species as well. Leaning or flopping If you are growing mountain mint in fertile soil there is a possibility that it may lean or flop. Leaning or flopping over it most likely to happen on the taller species (P. incanum, P. verticillatum, P. pycnanthemoides, P. loomisii). This can happen for several reasons, and I feel I should briefly describe them. I'm going to list the cause and describe solutions or strategies to stop them from flopping over. Also, based on my experience over multiple years, there are several species of Mountain Mint that seem to stay erect in all conditions. I have grown the following species in irregular sunlight and a variety of conditions, and they always seem to stay erect. They are Blunt Mountainmint (P. muticum), Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint (P tenuifolium), and Virginia Mountain Mint (P. virginianum). Very fertile soil If you have very fertile soil then the mountain mint can get very tall. Even taller then the maximum height listed in the reference books. So, based on that you should never fertilize Mountain Mints! And I've observed exact thing happening with Hairy Mountain Mint (P. verticillatum). But another solution you can do is the Chelsea Chop about a month before blooming. I experimented with this method on my own plants in 2024. The Hairy Mountainmint plants that I did the Chelsea chop to stood tall while the others leaned. However, this method would work on any species. Irregular sunlight For some species of mountain mint, if they only get sunlight from one direction they will instinctively 'reach' for the sun. Basically the plant will orient itself to face that direction, and grow in that direction. This will obviously raise the chances that it leans or flops over. The solution to this is to either plant your mountain mint in a location where it gets sun from all directions, or do perform the Chelsea Chop before it blooms (cut it back by half). No competition Some species of mountain mint will really benefit from competition. Having other plants growing close to it will force it to grow more vertical, and stay erect. If it is all alone, it may grow and reach 'out', resulting in stalks that are spreading out beyond the base, and eventually growing horizontally. Again, your solution to this problem is going to be either grow a type that doesn't do this (Blunt, Narrow-leaf, Virginia) or do the Chelsea Chop. How to Grow Mountain Mint from Seed Mountain mint is pretty easy to establish from seed as long as you manage to sow it by Spring. But all mountain mint can be sown without any special pretreatment. The only real requirement is that it needs exposure to sunlight to germinate. So, fill a suitable container with moist potting soil and sprinkle some seed on top. Press the seed into the soil with your thumb and mist it to keep it moist. Also, keep it in a location that gets morning sun and afternoon shade to help keep the soil moist. Starting the seed later in the Summer is tougher as it will be challenging to keep it moist. Below are some sample images of mountain mint seedlings that I have grown. Click on an image to go to full size. Hairy Mountain Mint Blunt Mountain Mint Virginia Mountain Mint Once the seedling has several sets of true leaves you can thin or transplant to it's final location. Dividing Mountain Mint Mountain mint can also be divided in Spring. What will happen is the leaves will emerge in early Spring, just go take a hand trowel and dig up a small clump of leaves. You can then replant this in a container or a new location to begin a new plant. Where you can buy Mountain Mint Mountain Mints is not typically sold in nurseries, as it isn't a typical 'garden friendly' plant. But it can be purchased at specialty nurseries that deal in Native Plants. You can find native plant nurseries near you on our interactive map. Where to buy seeds We have ordered a variety of native flower seeds from Everwilde Farms, which you can order right from Amazon through our link on our RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS PAGE. (We may earn a small commission when you purchase through our links, at no cost to you. This helps support our website.) Conclusion Mountain Mint is an absolutely wonderful flower that should have a place in every garden. It feeds so many pollinators and is virtually deer-proof making it one the lowest maintenance and tough plants you can grow. I personally grow five species in my yard right now, and may even add some more just to extend the bloom time. And hopefully after reading this, you feel the same. Find more native plants here