Plant of the Weekend: BLUNT MOUNTIAN MINT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruMcA2Y9bps&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
No plant in the Lurie Garden is more attractive to beneficial garden insects than blunt mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum). In late summer this plant dances with the busy flittering of honeybees, butterflies, beneficial wasps, and moths. The flat, white flowers are accented by fuzzy blue-green bracts. This 3 ft high plant spreads out into a tidy looking, flat mound which provides a nectar-filled landing pad for pollinators. Though in the mint family, blunt mountain mint doesn’t spread by rhizomes, so invasiveness isn’t a problem with this plant. French botanist and friend of Thomas Jefferson, Andre Michaux found this plant in Pennsylvania in 1790 and named it Pycnanthemum or “densely flowered” from the Greek for dense (pyknos) and flowered (anthos). Muticum is Latin for blunt, referring to the flat bracts at the tops of each stem. Blunt mountain mint is also native to all counties in Illinois, and really doesn’t grow in the mountains, so the common name is something of a mystery. Blunt mountain mint prefers full to part sun and an alkaline soil and thrives in zones 4-8.
Blunt mountain mint has a spicy, peppermint scent that wakes you up on a sultry summer day. The leaves contain pulegone, a natural mosquito repellant. You can crush the leaves and rub them on your skin and mosquitos will stay away. The smell is much more pleasant than store-bought repellant! Deer also stay away from this plant. A few small leaves can be used to provide a nice flavor to iced tea.
Stop by the Lurie Garden and enjoy the variety of pollinators feasting on blunt mountain mint’s blooms. The show will last into September, when there is a dearth of nectar from other plants. Our Lurie Garden honey will get significant contributions from the nectar of this plant. Blunt mountain mint dries to a silvery hue, providing beautiful winter interest to the garden.
Pycnanthemum muticum
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