CALAMINTHA NEPETA SUBSP. NEPETA

(syn. Clinopodium nepeta nepeta)

Lesser Calamint

Like a cloud of confetti, tiny white flowers (sometimes touched with pale blue) appear from early summer to fall. Undemanding and dependable, calamint provides the perfect foil for other summer bloomers and foliage. This full-sun perennial has a low mounding or bushy habit, ideal for the front of the border, rock gardens and more. The tiny leaves redolent of lemon mint are edible and can be used in teas.

While durable and pest-free, calamint also checks two important boxes for gardeners: bees and other pollinators work the flowers throughout the summer and the aromatic foliage is deer-resistant.

Calamintha nepeta nepeta is a favorite low-growing component in stylized meadows, matrix plantings and other modern perennial designs. Gardeners can also create a lovely monochromatic garden with more sure-thing perennials including past Perennial Plant of the Year winners such as Anemone ×hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ and Phlox paniculata ‘David’ or complement lesser calamint with ornamental grasses such as Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’ (switchgrass) or Schizacharium scoparium (little bluestem).

Hardiness: USDA Zones 2 to 7 (AgCan zones 3 to 8)

Light: Full sun 

Size: Up to 18 inches (45 cm) tall and wide 

Native Range: Great Britain to Southern Europe

Soil: Best with good drainage. 

Maintenance: Low-maintenance deciduous perennial. Can shear back lightly if desired to create neater habit or refresh spent blooming stems. Tolerates drought once established. 

Propagation: Easy by stem cuttings or seed. Press seeds into soil without covering and expose to light for best germination. Germinates in 14 to 30 days at 70°F (21°C). Will flower the first year from early sown seed. Also propagates by self-sowing where conditions allow.

Further Notes

Despite its many positive garden traits, lesser calamint is not suitable or recommended for every region. The Perennial Plant Association cautions against growing lesser calamint, particularly in unmanaged landscapes, in parts of the South and mid-Atlantic where it has escaped cultivation. Shearing plants after flowering greatly reduces self-sowing, which can be prolific and problematic where growing conditions are favorable.

Article derived from the website of the Perennial Plant Association, a trade association composed of growers, retailers, landscape designers and contractors, educators, and others that are professionally involved in the herbaceous perennial industry.