Downy Wood Mint

Blephilia ciliata

Origin: Eastern and Central North America

Improvement status: Wild

Seeds per packet: ~200

BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED

Life cycle: Perennial

Also called Ohio horsemint or downy pagoda plant, downy wood mint is a central and eastern North American native perennial with a history of medicinal use. Among other uses, Cherokee people reportedly use it as a poultice against headaches. The minty leaves can be used for tea, and are also said to be used in sauces, rubs, and drinks.

Downy wood mint is of course in the mint family (Lamiaceae), an herbaceous perennial with evergreen basal leaves in winter that provide year-round cover. Unlike other mints, it is largely clump-forming, so you don't have to worry about it taking over. Beautiful and fragrant purple flowers arrive each spring and bloom for about a month. It's an excellent pollinator plant, recommended by Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to provide food and habitat for a variety of beneficial insects including long-tongued and short-tongued bees, bee flies, Syrphid flies, butterflies, and skippers.

These Massachusetts-grown seeds come from the great Eric Toensmeier, author, scholar, educator, and farmer.

GROWING TIPS: Seed germination improved by a 60 day cold-moist stratification. Fall planting outdoors can work well as well. Some sources say it has double dormancy, so don't give up if they don't sprout the first spring. Suited to plantings from sun to full shade, and moist to dry, even being tolerant of dry sand. USDA zones 4-8.