Silver Leaf Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum incanum
Common Names: Hoary Mountainmint, Hoary Mountain Mint, Hoary Mountain-mint, Mountain Mint, Horse Mint
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 4a-8b Find Your Zone
Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Height at Maturity: 2-3′; maybe 4 to 6′ under ideal conditions
Width at Maturity: 3-4′
Spacing: 3-3.5′ for mass planting
Spacing: 3-3.5′ for mass planting
Growth Habit / Form: Upright Clump
Growth Rate: Fast
Flower Color: White to Soft Lavender with Purple spots
Flower Type: Single, Tubular
Flower Size: Small in Clusters
Flowering Period: Late Spring to Late Summer
Flowering Period: Late Spring to Late Summer
Fragrant Flowers: Yes
Foliage Color: Silver to White and Grayish-Green
Fragrant Foliage: Yes
Berries: No
Sun Needs: Full Sun to Part Shade
Water Needs: Average, Drought tolerant when established
Soil Type: Clay (amend heavy clay), Loam, Silt, Rocky
Soil Drainage: Moist But Well Drained; Drought tolerant when established
Soil pH: 6.5 – 7.5 (Slightly Acidic to Neutral)
Maintenance / Care: Low
Attracts: Butterflies, Beneficial Pollinators, Visual Attention
Resistances: Cold Temperatures (-30F / Zones 4-8), Deer – more info, Disease, Drought (when established), Humidity, Insect
Description
Listed as one of the top 10 plants in the United States for attracting and feeding butterflies and beneficial pollinators, Pycnanthemum incanum, commonly known as Silver Leaf or Hoary Mountain Mint, is a wonderful North American native aromatic perennial wildflower. During the hot humid summer, the soothing minty fragrance of the foliage and the fragrant frosty flowers and bracts impart the illusion of coolness. During the summer months, the tall, strong square stems clothed in mint green lanceolate leaves are topped with dense rounded clusters of white to soft lavender tubular flowers with purple spots. Butterflies and many other beneficial pollinators flock to the blooms and the flowers are excellent for cutting and use in flower arrangements. The leaves closest to the flower clusters are silver-grey to white, adding to the overall cool appeal of the plant. The leaves have a strong minty fragrance when crushed and can be used in cooking and making teas. This one thrives in sunny to partially shaded and dry to moist sites, even in rocky, gravelly and sandy soil. At 3 to 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide, Silver Leaf Mountain Mint is a fine accent in smaller garden beds or containers and in groupings where space allows. You might be happy to know that deer and rabbits don’t find this one palatable.
Wildlife Benefits
Silver Leaf Mountain Mint provides nectar for butterflies and many beneficial pollinator species. It supports Wavy-lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata) larvae.
Landscape & Garden Uses
Growing 3 to 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide, the Silver Leaf Mountain Mint is ideal for use as an accent in smaller garden spaces and containers or in groupings in larger beds and borders. A fine addition to herb gardens, fragrance gardens, butterfly and beneficial pollinator gardens, native plant gardens, meadow and prairie gardens, cottage gardens and the Xeriscape (low water needs).
Suggested Spacing: 24 to 36 inches apart for groupings; 6 feet apart for space between plants.
Growing Preferences
Silver Leaf Mountain Mint is very easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average to low fertility and full sun to part shade. We suggest at least 5 hours of direct sunlight per day for best flowering. High drought tolerance once established. very low-maintenance, plants can be cut back one time per year in late winter before new growth begins to emerge in spring. Plants can be fed in early spring with a mild, organic plant food.
Note: Find helpful advice under the Planting & Care tab above on desktop computer monitors or below on mobile devices.
Plant Long & Prosper!
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