Pycnanthemum Species, Big Leaf Mountain Mint, Clustered Mountain Mint, Short-Toothed Mt. Mint

I have four of these plants in my yard and they are always covered with a wide variety of bees and wasp. They are not aggressive like oth...Read Moreer mints and seem to have a clump forming habit.

I planted this in my garden where it is growing in heavy red clay soil in a leaf mulched bed that receives about 5 hours of direct sunlig...Read Moreht and another 7-9 hours of dappled shade. So far, I have never needed to water it.

The most striking aspect of this plant for me is how popular it is with pollinators. In this regard, of the 50-odd wildflower species in my garden, this one is hands down the champion. From the moment its flowers come into bloom in July and for approximately two months thereafter, it is positively covered by a wide variety of bees and wasps that continuously arrive and depart in such numbers that they cause the whole mass of stems to sway and shake. Standing near it at this time is like being next to a pollinator airport. It's really spectacular to see.

Pycnanthemum muticum is a vigorous spreader in my garden. Ober the course of two growing seasons, the single small specimen I planted spread to cover the entire 5'x5' space I allotted it with dense growth. It would easily have covered far more if I had allowed it to do so. Plant this together with another vigorous spreader (Monarda didyma or Physostegia virginiana, for example) or be prepared to cut it back from time to time.

This plant is extremely fragrant. Its flowers are small and rather unremarkable but I find the massed effect of the silvery bracts that frame them quite stunning.

It's the showy silvery bracts around the flower heads that give this perennial its distinctive color. They remain showy for months on end...Read More. The leaves are green.

Very attractive to a wide range of pollinators and beneficial insects. The lovely minty fragrance is only noticeable if the foliage is stroked or rubbed.

Spreads by underground rhizomes.

Highly adaptable, full sun to medium shade. Though the deceptive common name suggests a plant from the mountains, this is a plant of low-elevation meadows and woodland edges. Its native range runs from NH to TX.

June 2016: The rhizomes have spread about 18" in one season. If planting, I'd space these at least 3' apart, to allow full coverage in the second season. I would only plant this in a naturalizing situation---I think the spread is too aggressive for a perennial or mixed border.

It is a lovely meadow or prairie plant of eastern North America that grows well in gardens. It is a fantastic pollinator plant for bees, ...Read Morebutterflies, etc. Sold by a good number of native plant nurseries as North Creek Nursery in southeast PA. Easy to grow and low maintenance.