Coyote-mint

Year-round

Coyote mint likes sun and well-drained soil and needs little water once settled in.

• Give it full sun or partial shade.
• It does best in well-drained soil and handles a variety of soil types.
• Light pruning keeps it looking neat.
• It handles cold down to about 15 degrees F.

Fall

In fall, keep things simple and keep the soil well drained.

• Light pruning keeps the plant neat.
• Good drainage matters most for this plant.

Winter

Winter cold is not a problem for coyote mint in the Bay Area.

• It tolerates cold down to about 15 degrees F.
• Good drainage matters most, so avoid soggy spots.

Spring

In spring, focus on a sunny spot with well-drained soil.

• Pick a spot with full sun, or partial shade at most.
• Well-drained soil is best, and clay or sand are both fine.
• It likes to stay lightly trimmed to look neat.

Summer

Summer is bloom time, and a little extra water can help the flowers.

• It blooms in summer with pink or lavender flowers.
• Once settled in, water no more than about twice a month.
• Bloom and leaf quality improve with some summer water, especially inland.
• The flowers draw bees and butterflies.

Year-round

Coyote mint is a small, mounding, fragrant subshrub native to California's coastal chaparral and coastal sage scrub, with a documented range that runs along the Coast Ranges from the Bay Area south through the Central Coast into Orange County, just north of the Los Angeles basin. It is not a local native in Los Angeles itself, but it is a very close regional fit for the same coastal sage scrub and chaparral conditions and is one of the best small pollinator plants you can grow here.

• Give it full sun to light part shade. Full sun tends to bring the most flowers and the most butterfly visits.
• Plant in well drained soil. It tolerates sand, clay, and even serpentine soils as long as drainage is decent.
• It is drought tolerant once established, but a little occasional deep watering through summer, no more than a couple times a month, keeps the foliage and bloom looking their best in a Los Angeles yard.
• Its minty, gray green foliage and summer flowers are excellent for pollinators, supporting dozens of documented native bee and butterfly species, including monarchs and pale swallowtails.

It stays low and mounding, usually around 2 feet tall by 3 feet wide, so it works well as a tidy, front of bed planting near a walkway without much shaping.

Fall

Fall is planting season for coyote mint in Los Angeles, letting new plants root in before winter rains and next summer's heat.

• Plant new coyote mint in fall so roots establish during the cooler, wetter months ahead.
• After its main summer bloom fades, cut the plant back lightly to keep it neat and to encourage a fuller shape next season.
• Ease off supplemental water as fall rains, when they come, start doing the work for you.
• This is a good time to take stem cuttings if you want to propagate more plants for other parts of the yard.

Winter

Winter is a quiet, low maintenance season for coyote mint in Los Angeles. The plant rests through the cooler, wetter months and needs little from you beyond normal rainfall.

• Let winter rain supply the water. Established plants rarely need any supplemental irrigation this time of year.
• Foliage may thin out or look a bit ragged in the cold, but the plant typically stays evergreen to semi evergreen through a mild Los Angeles winter.
• Hold off on major pruning until after the coldest weeks pass, since fresh cuts are more vulnerable to an occasional cold snap.
• Check drainage around the base after heavy rain. Standing water is more of a risk to this plant than winter cold.

Spring

Spring brings fresh growth and sets up coyote mint for its main summer bloom in Los Angeles.

• New leafy growth picks up as days warm. This is a good time for a light shaping prune if the plant looks leggy from winter.
• Keep watering modest. Established plants do not need frequent irrigation even as they green up.
• Watch for early bees and butterflies starting to visit as the first flower buds form toward late spring.
• If you started cuttings in fall, spring is a reasonable time to move rooted starts to their permanent spot.

Summer

Summer is coyote mint's main bloom season in Los Angeles, and also the season where watering choices matter most for keeping it looking good without overdoing it.

• Expect the lavender to pink flower show to peak in summer, drawing bees and butterflies including monarchs and pale swallowtails.
• If you supplement water, keep it light, at most a couple of deep waterings a month, and make sure drainage is excellent. This plant is more likely to struggle from soggy summer soil than from dryness.
• Cut spent flower stalks back after bloom finishes to keep the mound tidy and to encourage a second flush of growth.
• Crush a leaf and check the minty scent as a quick health check. Strong fragrance is a sign the plant is happy, while a faded scent can mean it is stressed from too much or too little water.

Deadheading after the summer bloom keeps the mound looking tended rather than tired heading into fall.