Calamint 'Montrose White'
Calamintha nepeta 'Montrose White' · Lamiaceae
A neat, mint-scented mound hazed with tiny white flowers from June to frost, and loud with bees the whole time.
- Size
- 16 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late June to mid October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around calamint 'Montrose White'
The planner designed this bed around calamint 'Montrose White' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why calamint 'Montrose White' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Calamint 'Montrose White' × 3, white
- 2 Yellow ice plant × 5, yellow
- 3 Rock cress × 8, pink
- 4 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 3, tan
- 5 Stiff goldenrod × 8, yellow
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Star of Persia × 2, purple
- 8 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are daisies, dense clusters, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- In the middle. At 16 in it is the step between silver sage (12 in) in front and stiff goldenrod (4 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ ft) and stiff goldenrod (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 17 weeks. From late June to mid October.
- Closes the season. For its last two weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 6 groups (67%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and white and tan to calm things between them. Rock cress repeats along the bed to tie it together.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where calamint 'Montrose White' goes in a border
At 16 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
Sterile, so it flowers for four months and never seeds. Piet Oudolf uses calamint as the soft, pale filler between stronger shapes, and this is the best form of it.
- A long-flowering filler at the front
- Bees and other pollinators
- Softening the edge of a path
What to plant with calamint 'Montrose White'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for 11 weeks, from late June; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it.
- Sedum 'Matrona': in flower together for eight weeks, from mid August; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same dry soil.
- Prairie dropseed: in flower together for six weeks, from mid August; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about calamint 'Montrose White'
Does calamint 'Montrose White' need sun or shade?
Calamint 'Montrose White' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does calamint 'Montrose White' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does calamint 'Montrose White' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid October |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid October |
| Zone 7 | Late June to mid October |
| Zone 8 | Late June to mid October |
| Zone 9 | Mid June to mid October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should calamint 'Montrose White' be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 16 in (40 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many calamint 'Montrose White' plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is calamint 'Montrose White' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like calamint 'Montrose White'?
Calamint 'Montrose White' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Zagreb': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late June to late August, yellow, not white.
- Scarlet coral bells: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late May to late July, medium leaves, not fine.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat calamint 'Montrose White'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after calamint 'Montrose White'?
Calamint 'Montrose White' is over by mid October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Bodnant viburnum 'Dawn': from early November to late December, 10 ft tall.
- Common witch hazel: from mid October to late November, 15 ft tall.
What does calamint 'Montrose White' look like in winter?
Calamint 'Montrose White' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
Is calamint 'Montrose White' good for bees and butterflies?
Calamint 'Montrose White' is visited by pollinators, bees, specialist bees and butterflies.
More Calamintha
- Calamint Calamintha nepeta
- Large-flowered calamint Calamintha grandiflora
In these guides
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 16 in (40 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to mid October; airy sprays; white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, specialist bees, butterflies
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, poor soil
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.