How to Plant and Grow Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum)

How to Plant and Grow Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum) Pycnanthemum spp.

Mountain mint is a beautiful, fragrant herb that attracts bees and butterflies like a magnet.

If you’re interested in providing pollinators with food and habitat, add one or more of these plants to your yard or garden!

We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.

This perennial herb holds a special place in my heart, and I hope that when you grow your own, it will have one in yours as well.

In this article you’ll learn how to propagate silvery-hued mountain mint, what type of light, water, and soil conditions it needs, as well as ideas about how to use it in the landscape.

Here’s a sneak peek at what we’ll cover:

Before we get started, let me tell you – mountain mint is the plant that turned me into a native plant convert.

Many years ago, I bought a small pot of clustered mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) from a local native plant sale in North Carolina, expecting fun opportunities to witness bumblebees or maybe some honey bees visiting my garden.

I did not anticipate what actually happened.

When my clump of P. muticum bloomed, there was an all out pollinator party in my backyard. It was as if a message went out calling all beneficial insects far and wide to attend. I couldn’t even count the number of different species I was seeing!

I witnessed this spectacle with awe and experienced first hand the power of growing native plants.

You may be thinking that my pollinator parade was simply anecdotal, but actually, my experience was not unique.

Researchers such as Kaitlin Swiantek at the University of Florida have conducted studies on the Pycnanthemum genus, and found that these plants