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Growing Mint
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Mint
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Mint
Mint is a perennial with very fragrant, toothed leaves and tiny purple, pink, or white flowers. It has a fruity, aromatic taste.
There are many varieties of mint—all fragrant, whether shiny or fuzzy, smooth or crinkled, bright green or variegated. However, you can always tell a member of the mint family by its square stem. Rolling it between your fingers, you’ll notice a pungent scent and think of candy, sweet teas, or maybe even mint juleps.
As well as kitchen companions, mints are used as garden accents, ground covers, air fresheners, and herbal medicines. They’re as beautiful as they are functional, and they’re foolproof to grow, thriving in sun and shade all over North America. In fact, mint can be vigorous spreaders, so be careful where you plant it.
Planting
- Mints are vigorous perennials that thrive in light soil with good drainage.
- Ideally, they prefer a moist but well-drained site, something like their native habitat along stream banks.
- Most will tolerate some shade, and the variegated types may require some protection from direct sun.
- For growing outdoors, plant one or two purchased plants (or one or two cuttings from a friend) about 2 feet apart in moist soil. One or two plants will easily cover the ground. Mint should grow to be 1 or 2 feet tall.
- For the best growth in confined areas such as containers, topdress plants with a thin layer of compost or organic fertilizer every few months. Aboveground pots will need winter protection in cold climates.
- In the garden, plant mint near cabbage and tomatoes.
Care
- Minimal care is needed for mint. For outdoor plants, use a light mulch. This will help keep the soil moist and keep the leaves clean.
- For indoor plants, be sure to water them regularly to keep the soil evenly moist.
- At first, mints develop into well-behaved–looking, bushy, upright clumps, but they soon set out to conquer new territory with horizontal runners and underground rhizomes. Unless you block the advance, a pert peppermint plant can turn into a sprawling 4-foot giant in just 1 year. It’s not the stuff of horror movies, however. Mints benefit from picking and pruning. They are shallow-rooted and easy to pull out, so there’s no reason to worry, as long as you provide physical barriers such as walls, walkways, or containers.
Photo Credit: Juta/Shutterstock
Pests/Diseases
- Powdery mildew
- Rust
- Leaf spot
- Anthracnose
- Stem canker
- Mice dislike the smell of peppermint. Spread it liberally where you suspect the critters. Mint is also considered a deer-resistant plant.
Harvest/Storage
- Frequent harvesting is the key to keeping mint plants at their best. Young leaves have more flavor than old ones, and mint can be harvested as soon as it comes up in spring. Although fresh is best and sprigs keep for a few days in water, mint leaves can be frozen or air-dried in bunches.
- Right before flowering, cut the stems 1 inch from the ground. You can harvest one mint plant two or three times in one growing season.
- You can also just pick the leaves as you need them.
- You can grow the plants indoors for fresh leaves throughout the winter. If you want to dry them, it’s best to cut the leaves right before flowering. Store the dried leaves in an airtight container.
Propagating Mint
The best way to propagate mints is by taking cuttings from those that you like best. It’s easy—take 6-inch cuttings of rooted stems and plant them horizontally in the soil. Mint stems will also root in a glass of water. Start with a small cutting from an established plant. Any gardening friend will give you a cutting of a favorite mint.
Photo Credit: Joannawnuk/Shutterstock
Recommended Varieties
- Apple/Pineapple Mint: Mentha suaveolens
- Corsican Mint: Mentha requienii
- Pennyroyal: Mentha pulegium
- Peppermint: Mentha x piperita
- Citrus Mint: Mentha x piperita var. citrata
- Spearmint: Mentha spicata
Wit & Wisdom
- To relieve a tension headache, apply a compress of mint leaves to your forehead. Learn more about the medicinal benefits and many uses of mint.
- Mint is a symbol for virtue. Find out more plant meanings here.
- Mint can also help to relieve stress and anxiety. Find out how to use your fresh mint as a calming herb here.
“If any man can name … all the varieties of mint, he must know how many fish swim in the Indian Ocean.” –Walafrid Strabo (c. 808–849)
Recipes
Cooking Notes
Serious cooks generally prefer spearmint for savory dishes and peppermint for desserts. For a delicate mint taste in fruit salads, yogurt, or tea, try apple or orange mint. Mint lurks in the background in Middle Eastern salads, such as tabouli, and does well with lamb. It also goes with peas, zucchini, fresh beans, marinades for summer vegetables, cold soups, fruit salads, and cheese.
See our recipe for a delicious (and healthy) Mango Mint Smoothie!
Credit: Anna Shepulova/Shutterstock
Tip! Make flavored ice cubes by freezing trays of strong mint tea, then use the ice cubes for your drinks!
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Reader Comments
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possible typo
you said stem anker. did you mean stem cancer?
oops
stem canker
Cankers
Stem cankers are patches of dead tissue that appear on a plant’s stem. The canker may be caused by an infection of bacteria, viruses, or fungi, and they generally expand slowly over time. Depending on the plant and the cause, stem cankers may be lethal to the plant.
canker
ok
climate & mint
it's my firs time to have a plant and i don't know where should i keep my Mint and Basil plants ? indoor or outdoor !
i live in Hungary so , outdoor is cold & rarely sunny and indoor ,we turn on heaters... so , i am confused about the most suitable environment for them .
Basil and Mint
They both do better outdoors, in the sun. Note that basil is an annual (it lasts for one growing season) and mint is a perennial (it should come back every year, if maintained properly). Everybody starts somewhere. Congratulations on beginning gardening!
Flowering
How do I get my plant to flower? Is it a seasonal thing?
Mint in containers
what would be the right container size for growing mints? If I would like my plant to grow tall, does it mean I would need a tall container? also I wonder if I can mix 3 different types of mints in one container.
Thank you,
mint in containers
To grow mint outdoors in containers, you might want to select a pot that is at least 8 inches wide and 10 to 12 inches deep. A larger width might be good if you’d like to plant a variety of different mints together.
Nutrients in soil
What nutrients present in soil are necessary for mint to grow healthy?
mint's nutrient needs
We dug deep for this answer. Here’s what we found: http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/nutrient/pdf/Specialty/Mint/The%20critic...
and there is this: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XKK6IvrSwLUJ:https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/0r967439h+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=cl...
We hope this helps!
Mint
Does the spring growing of mint come from the old woody stems or up from the roots/ground? Thanks!
Mint plant flowering
what happens if your mint plant starts flowering? will the flowers produce seeds that I can plant and is there anything special but I have to do with the seats before planting them
mint plant flowering
To harvest mint, pick leaves just before flowering or cut the stems to keep from flowering. Plants will often grow new branches below the cut.
Mint definitely spreads quickly otherwise. If this is fine with you, let it flower. If you have different mint varieties, however, and you want to keep them true, you need to remove all flowering stems to avoid cross pollination.
Growing Mint
This article is a real sweet anecdote but what I want to know is how to grow it. Sow seed when, How deep, Germination time, How close to last frost???? This article answers none of these questions. You need to title it, I Love Mint.
Mint dried suddenly
I am in Colorado. I had potted mint on my window sill and it was doing well. All on a sudden this past 2 weeks, all the leaves have gone dry and brown. The stems are dry.
Is this their dormant season in February? Will it grow back?
mint needs water
I have mint inside in Colorado also, I had it above a heat vent and a couple times found the leaves dry and crumbly. I very quickly gave it water and it revived, except the dry, crumbly leaves.
mint
does the same thing apply to spear mint?
Mint
Yes, spearmint is listed in the varieties!
Light
For growing a mint plant indoors, how much light would I need?
Growing mint indoors and light needed
You’re right in saying that the biggest challenge is the amount of light. Herbs including mint do best when grown in a very sunny window that receives between 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight each day (typically a southern or southwestern exposure). When growing herbs under natural light, be certain to rotate the pot every 3 to 4 days to ensure uniform growth of the plant. If your windows do not offer enough sunlight, you can supplement natural lighting with fluorescent light. In general, for every hour of required sunlight, expose the plants to two hours of fluorescent light. Herbs grown entirely under fluorescent lights will require between 14 to 16 hours of artificial lighting. Place herb plants no closer than 5 or 6 inches and no farther than 15 inches from the light source.
Need more info
I am a student researching 'optimum light requirement of peppermint'. I will be using artificial growlights to supplement natural daylights for a few hours. Could you provide material or links to scholarly research on this subject? Thanks
light requirements for herbs
Sam, Here are a couple .edu references on light requirements for mint. The information is fairly consistent.
“Most herbs need six hours minimum of direct sunlight. Either place herbs in a sunny location, for example, near a window with a southern exposure, or place herbs 6 to 12 inches from two 40 watt, cool white fluorescent bulbs for 14 to 16 hours.” Reference: https://extension.psu.edu/growing-herbs-indoors
“Most herbs require at least 6 hours of direct sunlight in order to grow well. All-day sun is even better. Seeds may be started indoors under fluorescent lights during the late winter months. Lights should be set for 14-16 hours daily, placed approximately four to six inches above the seedlings and raised as they grow, to maintain that distance.” Reference: https://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/vegetables/herbs/
Thanks
Good information. Cheers!
Sweet Mint
I am growing Sweet Mint this year, and I live in the hot conditions of Nevada. The plant recommended 6 hours sun. But I noticed if I didn't move it to shade after 10 am, and water a lot, it would look droopy. One day I was away from home six hours and came home it was fried. Sad. I kept watering for days, but nothing. I left the planter for days not having the heart to toss it. Then the day I mustered the courage, I noticed tiny green leaves under the brown dried leaves. I immediately trimmed and took in the house. Nice thing, spiders don't like it I do.
Peppermint plant not doing well
Earlier this year I bought two peppermint plants which I put in a container. At first it seemed sick, but gained strength and grew tremendously. Now however, I found small black spots under the leaves coming from aphids, and I cut off all the branches (something I haven't done other than when I got it), pulled up some of the roots as it was circling around itself and sprayed a water and detergent solution on it to kill the aphids. Now it seems the aphids are gone, but there's a white, gooey substance on the top part of the cut off stems. It's not "spit", and I cannot see any other creature on the plant. Is it just from the plant to "rebuild" itself or is it something bad?
Mint problems
Your plant could be infested with spittle bug; it produces milky white substance. It is believed not to harm the plant, but you can eliminate it by hosing/watering it off of the plant (a rain will often be enough). The bugs hide under the foam, so washing it off will reveal them to predators—ladybugs and lacywings (if there are any) who will have the spittlebugs for lunch.
We hope this helps.
Bugs on plants
No bug likes coffee . I can brew coffee, cheap coffee or any kind of coffee, pour it directly on top of the plant making sure the leaves get very wet and then into the soil. I have watched caterpillars crawling out of the plant to get away from the coffee. If you will do this you can bring your plants inside with no insects.
Peppermint
I just looked and mine is a peppermint plant.
Mint
I have a large planter full of mint and would like suggestions on how to use it. Is there any use for dried or frozen mint; as we go from Minnesota to Arizona in the winter?
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