Mint is a rewarding herb to grow for its aromatic leaves and flowers. You can dry them to make tea or use them fresh in desserts, salads, and sauces. Mentha is distinct from other herbs with its refreshing, cool flavor and aroma. Although special, it’s also incredibly invasive in some regions, especially the Pacific Northwest and eastern forested regions.
Instead of battling mint in containers or trying to prune it every year, why not grow a native herb substitute? Some species originate in North America, while other alternatives are native mint relatives. They spread and creep like the famous herb but are less invasive and more beneficial for local pollinators and animals.
Try one of these nine native herb alternatives today instead of mint, and you’ll be enjoying tea without having to worry about the natural spaces around you. There are species for every gardener, no matter what part of the U.S. you live in. Grow them in containers for easy cultivation, or plant them in the ground and let them spread!
Wild Bergamot Seeds
Its complex flavor is a combination of oregano, thyme, and mint; a unique seasoning for jellies, salads, and other savory dishes. The showy, pinkish-lavender flowers bloom all summer to the delight of bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, the wood nymph butterfly in particular.
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Yerba Buena
It works well fresh or dried as a soothing, herbal tea.
This Pacific Northwest native is a close relative of mint, and it substitutes the herb well in all sorts of applications like drinks, desserts, or tea. It spreads similarly through underground roots and lots of seeds in autumn. Yerba buena in Spanish means “good herb,” and this plant is, in fact, a good herb! It’s also incredibly ornamental, with little round leaves and white flower clusters.
Yerba buena works well fresh or dried to make a soothing, herbal tea. You can also steep the leaves in a sugary syrup to extract the flavor. Use the minty sugary syrup to sweeten coffee, baked goods, or marinades that need a refreshing boost.
Yerba buena starts easily from seeds or potted plants. Start them in your garden during cool, mild weather in fall or spring. Choose a site with partial or full shade since this plant loves moist, shaded conditions. If starting seeds in the fall, sow them at least eight weeks before your first frost so they have a chance to establish themselves.
Wild Basil
An ideal way to use wild basil is to dry and store the leaves as a seasoning.
Wild basil is the East Coast’s version of yerba buena—both herbs are close relatives in the same genus Clinopodium and were formerly in Satureja. These herbs thrive in partial shade with moist and fertile soils. Wild basil survives in full sun and tolerates sunlight better than yerba buena. Use it as a mint or basil substitute, as its flavor has hints of both.
An ideal way to use wild basil is to dry and store the leaves as a seasoning. Simply cut leafy stalks with or without flowers, hang them to dry, and store them in airtight containers when they’re shriveled and crispy. They have a flavor similar to mint and basil, but it’s much milder. Use more wild basil in place of these two if you’re using it as a seasoning substitute.
Start wild basil seeds indoors in pots four to six weeks before your last average frost date. Then, transplant sprouting seedlings outdoors once the danger of frost has passed. Wild basil thrives with regular moisture, so give it plenty of water as it adapts to your garden in its first year.
Scarlet Bee Balm
It’s a delightful wildflower with deep-red blooms that attract hummingbirds by the dozens.
Scarlet bee balm is a must-have perennial in any pollinator garden! It’s a delightful wildflower with deep-red blooms that attract hummingbirds by the dozens. They’ll flock to your plant each year since they remember where their favorite flowers are when they find them. Find this herbaceous perennial in the wild throughout the eastern and central U.S.
Scarlet bee balm sprouts edible flowers and leaves, and you can use either fresh or dried to make tea, syrups, and herbal vinegar. It has a scent and flavor similar to hummingbird mint but is more savory. Use it dry as a seasoning for pasta or pizza sauce.
My favorite bee balm variety is ‘Jacob Cline.’ It sprouts large red tubular flowers from early spring to late fall. Start this perennial in your garden by finding potted cultivars online or at a nursery. You can also start it easily from seeds. Surface sow them in spring or early fall where you want them to sprout—they’ll spread through runners and seeds, so plant them in containers if you’d like to limit their spread.
Wild Bergamot
It looks identical to scarlet bee balm, except its flowers have a lovely pink-lavender hue.
Wild bergamot is another native perennial in the genus Monarda. It looks identical to scarlet bee balm, except its flowers have a lovely pink-lavender hue. Wild bergamot is also more frost-hardy and drought-tolerant than scarlet bee balm, making it a great option for cold climates.
Any native plant attracts and rewards wildlife, but wild bergamot is one of the most rewarding! It offers delicious nectar to hummingbirds and insects that can reach inside their tubular flowers. The seeds are a nutritious food source for hungry birds at summer’s end.
Start wild bergamot seeds indoors in pots eight to ten weeks before your last average frost date. Transplant the seedlings outdoors after the last frost, giving them fertile, well-draining soil and regular water to establish themselves. After they adapt to the site, they’re drought, frost, and pest-resistant.
Scarlet Monardella
In summer, red tubular flowers emerge that resemble scarlet bee balm blooms.
Scarlet monardella is a perfect native mint alternative—it’s a close relative in the same family. Both herbs are in the Lamiaceae (mint) family alongside Monarda, Clinopodium, and Agastache, all names of plants on this list. This family is incredibly diverse, with different species offering aromatic leaves, flowers, and rhizomes of all types.
Scarlet monardella stands out from its relatives by growing more as a ground cover than a bush. It slowly creeps on bare soil, spreading tendrils as it prepares to flower. In summer, red tubular flowers emerge that resemble scarlet bee balm blooms. They both attract hummingbirds, although scarlet monardella is more drought tolerant than the bee balms.
Grow this minty replacement in rock gardens, sunny perennial borders, or alpine gardens. It prefers full sun with free-draining soil, although it also tolerates partial shade. These conditions match scarlet monardella’s native range in Southern California, where it grows in coastal mountains and forests. ‘Marian Sampson’ is a favorite cultivar that stays shorter than four inches and spreads 18 inches wide, with more flowers than the species.
Coyote Mint
The blooms resemble wild bergamot flowers, with lavender petals and strong fragrances.
Coyote mint is another Mentha relative in the genus Monardella, like scarlet monardella. It behaves more like a shrub reaching two feet tall in maturity. The blooms resemble wild bergamot flowers, with lavender petals and strong fragrances. They are a boon to wildlife like bees, pollinating flies, and butterflies.
Coyote mint grows throughout the West Coast in hardiness zones 7 through 10. It thrives in well-drained soil, and it appreciates occasional summer watering. During the winter, it goes dormant, dying back to underground roots. Ensure it has free-draining soil so it can breathe despite regular garden irrigation.
Use coyote mint leaves to make a soothing herbal tea. Mix it with honey and lemon juice for a deliciously smooth beverage. Start this perennial in your garden in spring after the last frost. Find potted plants at a local nursery or online, or sow seeds. Plant them outdoors in late fall or early winter so they undergo a month or two of cold stratification.
American Wild Mint
Fresh leaves are more pungent than dry ones, and they work well in muddled in drinks.
Instead of aggressive non-native mints, try American wild mint as a native alternative! It’s one of the few plants in the Mentha genus native to most of North America. It spreads throughout gardens, forming a low ground cover. Stems may poke up to about 32 inches tall, but you can cut them back to keep your plant short.
Use the mildly herbal leaves in jellies, baked goods, and sauces. Dry them first to use them as a seasoning or in a tea mix. Fresh leaves are more pungent than dry ones, and they work well in drinks that require muddled mint. American wild mint is especially beneficial to native pollinators in its range. The flowers attract bees that feast on the blooms’ pollen and nectar.
This perennial sprouts easily from seeds during cool spring weather. Plant them in pots outdoors a week or two before your last frost. They’ll grow best in partial shade with regular water to keep their roots moist but not soggy. After they germinate and sprout a few stems, transplant them into your garden. They’ll spread with rhizomes and seeds, but not nearly as aggressively as non-native mints.
Southern Mountain Mint
Each flower has little purple dots on its petals, making for a pleasing cut flower in bouquets and arrangements.
Southern mountain mint is the perfect substitute for mint in the southern U.S., as it grows wild in moist woods, forests, and open thickets. Give it regular water, and it’ll reward you with white flower clusters and white-tinged leaves at the stem tips. Each flower has little purple dots on its petals, making for a pleasing cut flower in bouquets and arrangements.
This perennial grows taller than most native replacement plants on this list, reaching six feet tall when it has ready access to nutrients and moisture. Give it compost or organic mulch regularly to satiate your plant and keep it happy. You’ll notice bees, butterflies, and birds swarming your plants to eat the nectar, pollen, and seeds.
Southern mountain mint starts easily from seeds. Surface sow them in early spring, ensuring they stay moist under full sun or partial shade. Grow this herb in a container or raised bed if you’d like to limit its spread, as it may creep wider annually when thriving.
Anise Hyssop
It’s incredibly fragrant and beautiful, working well in fresh floral arrangements.
Anise hyssop rounds out this list because it’s a star perennial for native plant gardens! It also goes by agastache, and is a close relative of the common garden ornamentals in plant nurseries. Anise hyssop is ornamental, edible, and hardy, making it an excellent choice no matter what type of garden you have. It’ll thrive throughout zones 5 through 9, although it sometimes survives frigid winters in zone 4.
Use anise hyssop to flavor syrups, teas, and sauces. It’s incredibly fragrant and beautiful, working well in fresh floral arrangements. Outdoors, the purple blooms attract bees, bugs, and butterflies, while the seeds feed hungry wildlife during fall and winter. You can eat the seeds if you wish! They go great in baked goods as a poppy seed replacement.
Start anise hyssop seeds indoors in pots four to six weeks before your last frost date. You can safely transplant them outdoors once there are no more hard freezes in your area. You can also sow dozens of seeds in late fall—they’ll sprout where you sow them in early spring, and you won’t have to worry about transplanting.
