Mountain Mint is a native wildflower and herb that attracts many bees and butterflies with its wonderful minty smell and abundant nectar. Its native habitat is dry to wet thin woodlands, thickets and meadows. The densely packed heads have many small flowers that bloom from about June to August. It grows 3- 6 feet tall and about 2 feet wide. Mountain Mint is easy to grow in average to dry soils in full sun to partial shade. Use in a pollinator garden or naturalized area. More information on Pycnanthemum .
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.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 6 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 6 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green; White
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Ovate
Leaf margin
Doubly Serrate
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
The whitish-green oval to lance-shaped leaves are lightly toothed with hairy undersides
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower shape
Irregular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Tightly packed flowerheads on terminal branches have many small flowers that are irregular in shape and up to 3/10 of an inch. Each tiny flower is white, sometimes lilac with purple spots. Blooms June to August.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit detail
Brown seeds have hairs and are in an oblong shape.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Downy green stems
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
E. U.S.A. to Illinois
Distribution
AL , FL , GA , IL , IN , KY , MD , NC , OH , SC , TN , VA , WV
Wildlife value
This plant supports Wavy-lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata) larvae. Flowers attract butterflies, bees, and pollinators. This plant--more especially, the seeds-- also attracts birds.