Virginia Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum virginianum
Crush a leaf and the spearmint scent carries for feet. White summer flowers draw more native bee species than nearly any plant its size.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The most fragrant native mint and the single highest-traffic pollinator plant in the moist garden. the mint scent alone makes this one worth growing.
Pick up a sprig of Virginia Mountain Mint and crush it between your fingers: the clean, sharp spearmint scent is immediate and intense, strong enough to carry several feet on a warm July day. The plant is a midsummer pollinator magnet, its flat-topped clusters of small white flowers visited by more species of native bee than almost any other plant its size. Honeybees, native bumblebees, sweat bees, and a dozen specialist bee species work the flowers from morning to dusk. Painted lady and other nectaring butterflies are regulars. Virginia Mountain Mint thrives in moist, sunny conditions: wet meadow edges, rain garden margins, low spots in the landscape. It spreads by rhizome to form a colony, which in the right spot means a buzzing patch of white flowers and mint fragrance from July through September. Give it room to spread and step back. The silvery-white bracts that surround the flower clusters give the plant a dusted, frosted look from a distance that's distinctive even before you get close enough to smell it.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown virginia mountain mint propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
Plant virginia mountain mint instead of Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and non-native mints in moist, sunny areas. Same job in the garden, without the spread.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 1.5–2.5 ft · 18–24 in wide
- Bloom time
- Midsummer through early fall
- Bloom color
- White
- USDA zones
- 4–8
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America from Maine south to Virginia and west to the Great Plains; moist meadows, wet prairies, and stream margins
Care notes for virginia mountain mint.
Full to part sun, moist to average soil. Tolerates brief wet conditions. Spreads by rhizome and self-seeds. install edging to control spread in borders, or plant in a location where it can naturalize freely. Cut back hard in early spring. Divide every two to three years to rejuvenate. Deer will not touch it. the strong mint fragrance is a reliable deterrent. No pest or disease issues.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside virginia mountain mint.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.