Native Plant of the Week: Threadleaf Mountain Mint

Family: Lamiaceae

Name: Pycnanthemum tenuifolium

Common Name: Threadleaf Mountain Mint

Bloom Time: June-September

Soil Condition: dry-average-moist, well drained, tolerates clay

Light: Sun-Partial Shade

Height: 24-36” (may grow to 48” in rich soil)

Native Range: Eastern United States including Long Island

Flowers: white with lavender specks

Maintenance: if necessary, divide when plants get too wide.

Benefits: Not to be confused with the invasive European mints like spearmint, this fine textured, well behaved, clumping mountain mint is a great addition to any native plant garden or an herb garden. The minty foliage can be used as a culinary herb, especially in teas and cocktails. It may also repel mosquitoes when rubbed onto the skin. One of the best nectar sources, it’s a pollinator magnet for our native bees, wasps, beetles and skipper butterflies! Fantastic in a planter and as a cut flower. Basal foliage is usually evergreen. Unfortunately, it is only moderately deer and rabbit resistant.

Companion Plants: Heliopsis helianthoides (Ox-eye Daisy), Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem), Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot), Solidago rigida (Stiff Goldenrod)

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References:

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=pyte

http://www.newmoonnursery.com/plant/Pycnanthemum-tenuifolium

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=r690

#NativePlants #PollinatorPlants #IndigenousPlants #Gardeningwithnativeplants