Hey folks- I'm planning out my garden plot for the new year, and looking to dive deeper into the concept of companion planting. One of the highly recommended species is culinary mint, which got me thinking...there's a number of native species in the mint family such as wild bergamont, Ohio horsemint, calamint...has anyone tried incorporating these species into companion plantings, to ward off insects while increasing plant diversity?
Well…… I can only say I tried it in North Dakota and it worked very well! I never found out the name of the plant. It had a very strong almost citrus smell and I was very glad that it didn’t spread everywhere. I use mint, lemon balm and oregano now that I’m back in Alabama, but only because I haven’t found a wild thing to put in there! Good luck 😊
I find wild bergamont to be a well behaved plant in comparison with some culinary mints. It does need a bit of area so I plant it NEAR my gardens but not inside my gardens. It is part of my pollinator mix of plants including coneflower and black eyed susan.
Many gardens have been overtaken by mints so you may want to pick the tamer ones. Oregano is a struggle to contain in my garden...
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