Billie Hinton/Bio

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Thursday, October 08, 2020

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 58: Meehan’s Mint (+ a better shot of the gate decor)

 Grabbed a better photo today - I am loving seeing these beauties each time I drive into the farm gate.



This Meehan’s Mint is a ground-covering mint that I’ve put in the front of the shade bed. I’m hoping it will spread out and create a nice frontispiece to the mix in the long, slightly lanky shape of this native planting. 



More info:

Meehania cordata 
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Common Name: Meehan's mint 
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Lamiaceae
Native Range: Eastern United States
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Spread: 0.25 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Lavender blue
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Heavy Shade
Garden locations

Culture

Best grown in rich, humusy, medium moisture, well-drained soils in part shade. Tolerates full sun as long as soils are kept uniformly moist. Also tolerates full shade. Stoloniferous but not too aggressive.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Meehania cordata, commonly called Meehan’s mint or creeping mint, is a stoloniferous, mat-forming mint that resembles in appearance the common lawn and garden weed known as gill-over-the-ground or ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), but it does not exhibit the very aggressive tendencies of the latter. It is native from western Pennsylvania to North Carolina, Tennessee and Illinois, where it typically occurs in rich woods and wooded slopes. This is a low-growing perennial with trailing square stems and opposite broadly heart shaped green leaves (to 1” long) with crenate margins. Hooded, two-lipped, lavender blue flowers bloom in mid to late spring. Flowers (to 1” long) are somewhat large for the plant, appearing in upright 3-inch spikes on stems rising to 4-6” tall.

Genus name honors distinguished American horticulturist and editor Thomas Meehan (d. 1901).

Specific epithet means heart-shaped in reference to the leaves.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Some susceptibility to slugs.

Garden Uses

Ground cover for shade gardens, woodland gardens or shady border areas.


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2 comments:

  1. Grey Horse MattersOctober 9, 2020 at 6:56:00 PM EST

    The gates look very pretty. Love the fall colors!
    As for that particular mint I don’t know anything about it. We have peppermint and spearmint plants that spread like crazy in one garden . They’re really easy to grow but a little invasive, I do have to take some of them out periodically. Just to uncover the slate walkway.

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  2. billieOctober 10, 2020 at 10:35:00 AM EST

    This mint is a ground cover plant that I hope will spread some but not sure how aggressive it is - will see if I regret or not! :) I have a lemon mint in the bigger sunny bed that I pull out every year and it comes right back in the spring. It smells good when you rub its leaves but otherwise not useful - though if I got a dehydrator and got organized, I could make tea. Would also be good for mojitos I think!

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