Mountain mints are a genus of 19 species of herbaceous perennials in the mint family (Lamiaceae) that are native to North America and all areas of North Carolina. The genus name comes from Greek words meaning "dense flower." They grow 1 to 3 feet tall in moist to dry, well-drained soils and in full sun to partial shade, with the best flowering occurring in sun. They can spread aggressively by rhizomes but are easily controlled if spreading is not desired. The leaves have a strong minty fragrance when crushed and can be used in cooking and making teas. The densely packed clusters of flowers come in white to shades of purple and attract many pollinators in July to September. Most have pleasing foliage when not in bloom. Use these mints in naturalized areas as well as native, pollinator, butterfly or edible gardens. Many varieties are available to choose from. This plant is one of the 20 key pollinator plants that should be blooming in August for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census 2025. Diseases, Insects and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems.
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗Reconciled to full toolbox: matched by slug to slug 'pycnanthemum'. Identity (id/common/scientific name) preserved from the original 87-plant Hunnicutt set; attribute data refreshed from the 48-attribute toolbox scrape.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.