ANNOUNCING THE 2025

PERENNIAL PLANT OF THE YEAR®

(Chosen by the Perennial Plant Association and all information from their report) 

Pycnathemum muticum

(Clustered Mountainmint)

 

 

Photography Credit: Chicago Botanic Garden

 

Clustered mountainmint (also known as blunt mountainmint or short-toothed mountainmint) is a tough and adaptable perennial native to meadows and open woodlands across much of the eastern United States west to Texas. It is not a true mint (Mentha spp.) but belongs to the same family and has similarly scented leaves. A must-have for pollinator gardens, heads of tiny white to light pink blooms attract butterflies, wasps, and bees from July to September. The inconspicuous flowers are upstaged by surrounding silver bracts, which give the illusion of frost in summer and persist for months. Clustered mountainmint has no serious disease issues, and its aromatic foliage is unpalatable to deer and rabbits.


Branched, vertical stems grow two to three feet tall and form a dense, weed-suppressing clump. Clustered mountainmint spreads by underground rhizomes and can be aggressive in moist conditions, though it is not invasive to the degree of true mints.


Site clustered mountainmint in an area where it can freely naturalize and mingle among other plants. Its silver sheen plays well with other flower colors and contrasts wonderfully with dark foliage. Companions include black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia spp.), bee balms (Monarda spp.), blazing stars (Liatris spp.), Joe Pye weeds (Eutrochium spp.), and native grasses such as little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum).

 

Photography Credit: Chicago Botanic Garden


PLANT DATA

Hardiness
USDA Zones 4 to 8
Canadian Hardiness Zones 3 to 7
AHS Heat Zones 4 to 10

Light
Full sun to part shade

Size
24-36 inches (60-100 cm) tall; spreads widely by rhizomes

Origin
Eastern United States, west to Texas

Soil
Prefers medium to high moisture, fertile, well-draining soils. Tolerates clay soils. Less tolerant of drought than most other mountainmints.

Maintenance
Clustered mountainmint can spread aggressively, especially in wet soils. Rhizomes are easy to control by cutting them to the desired size with a spade and pulling the shoots by hand in spring. Seed heads may be left until early spring for winter interest. Tolerates heat and drought once established. No serious pest or disease issues.
 
Grower Notes
Pycnanthemum muticum is as easy in production as it is in the landscape.
  • Pot in fall to bulk/overwinter for early spring sales.
  • Pot in early spring for late spring/early summer sales (does not require vernalization).
  • Finishing schedule for 1 gal: 4 to 6 weeks from a 32 cell liner; 6 to 9 weeks from a 50 or a 72.
  • Shear in spring (repeatedly, if necessary).

Reprinted from Perennial Plant Association Inc.   (NOT AFFILIATED WITH GEORGIA PERENNIAL PLANT ASSOCIATION)

 

 

 

 

Prior Selections

Selections in color link to articles about the plant.

 

 

2024

Phlox paniculata 'Jeana'

2023

Rudbeckia 'American Gold Rush'

2022

Schizachyrium scoparium

2021

Calamintha nepeta subs. Nepeta

2020 Aralia cordata 'Sun King
2019 Stachys ‘Hummelo’
2018 Allium ‘Millenium’
2017 Asclepias tuberosa
2016 Anemone xhybrida 'Honorine Jobert'
2015 Geranium xcantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’
2014 Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’
2013 Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’
2012 Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’
2011 Amsonia hubrichtii
2010 Baptisia australis
2009 Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’
2008 Geranium ‘Rozanne’
2007 Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’
2006 Dianthus gratianoplitanus ‘Fire Witch’
2005 Helleborus xhybridus
2004 Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’
2003 Leucanthemum ‘Becky’ ATL connected!
2002 Phlox ‘David’
2001 Calamagrostis xsuperbum acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’
2000 Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’
1999 Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’ 
1998 Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’
1997 Salvia ‘May Night’ (‘Mainacht’)
1996 Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’
1995 Perovskia atriplicifolia
1994 Astilbe ‘Sprite’
1993 Veronica ‘Sunny Border Blue’
1992 Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’
1991 Heuchera micrantha ‘Palace Purple’
1990 Phlox stolonifera

 

 

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