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.
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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.
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?
uses for mint
Certainly! You can use dried mint in your own blend of teas (both iced and hot), or add it to sauces, soups, veggies, casseroles, salad dressings, spice rubs on meat, baked goods–all sorts of options for foods. For health, some people like to place dried mint (sometimes mixed with other dried herbs) in cheesecloth or muslin bags and then let it soak in their bath water, to add soothing fragrance. Tinctures to relieve digestive troubles can also be made with dried mint. Dried mint is also used in potpourris, sachets, soaps, etc. Hope this helps!
I have and love the spearmint
I have and love the spearmint, but it has become very adventurous in spreading through places I never thought it would. It takes the scenic route and appears thick and lush in a new location, easy to pull out but the roots are quite firm and it comes back. So take it very seriously when they say careful where you put it! I rub the fresh leaves on my temples when I get a headache and I think it does help, we don't use any aspirin etc around here. In the spring a little beetle was leaving tiny hole marks on the leaves but it did not bother the plant, only a little unsightly and they are gone by now.
I recently (about a month ago
I recently (about a month ago) planted a sweet mint plant in my medium-sized window box alongside my small pepper plant and English thyme. It's grown very fast, and seems to have settled on a height of about 12 inches. However, I've noticed the past few days that several of the leaves near the bottom of the plant are turning brown around the edges. I live in Colorado, and the past week or so has been very hot (low 90's F) in addition to being dry, so I've taken to watering the window box twice a day. My window faces SW so the plants get sun mostly in the afternoon. Is this just an overwatering problem or something else? And should I trim off these brown leaves or the entire lower stems?
browning mint
It’s hard to know, but it could be the excessive heat. They prefer temperatures around 60 to 80F. When such days occur, it might help to provide a little shade. Mints do like moist soil, but not overly so. During hot days, it may appreciate watering twice a day, but check the soil first to make sure that it isn’t soggy. Overwatering often appears on the plant as yellowing wilting leaves that feel soft, and also soggy soil. Underwatering, the leaves are crisp and brown, with dry soil. If the plants are very crowded, your mint might also be under stress, as the roots like to spread. Also make sure they haven’t been overfertilized, which sometimes turns leaves brown.
You can trim off just the browning leaves.
growing mint outdoors in the north
Our mint was grown outside. In the fall, we mowed it over in the fall. It cleaned and freshen the lawn mower. It always came back vigorously in the spring. No matter how cold or how much snow.and was 6 inches tall during the summer months. We never covered it with mulch or anything else.
Mint growing
I'm planning to plant then next year. Now they are in container and planning to take them indoor around Oct.. I live near Great Lakes, near Wisconsin & Illinois border. It gets chilly during winter. Are you from that cold part?
Response to cold climate
I lived with mint out at my parents' home (zone 5) and now mine for decades.
I live in zone 4 - 5 depending on which map I look. None of the mints have had any issue with the cold. They are snow covered all winter
My issue/problem. The different mints must of cross pollinated and do not taste the same
I love eating fresh spearmint and getting the taste in my mouth. Not anymore. I had a hard time finding seeds for edible plant. Will start from seed for the first time
I bought mint about three
I bought mint about three weeks ago and planted it in a big pot then put it in my kitchen window, it's growing nice but there's some powdery mildew on almost all the leaves.
Please can you advise me on what I should do to stop it.
Thank you very much
Sadly, powdery mildew is
Sadly, powdery mildew is difficult to control, not least because, apparently there are several types (species) of it. It may have developed at the source—the (likely) greenhouse in which it was grown (forced, possibly) and prepped for sale. One source suggests that while in a greenhouse, mint plants are constantly “washed” with overhead irrigation. Once that ceases for more than a few days, the humidity of that environment opens the risk of mildew. (It can not germinate when plants are wet.) Why are you only seeing it now, you might wonder? Well, it can take up to a week for it to develop into a visible colony. You can try removing the infected plant parts. Increase air circ around the plant. However, we must advise that survival rate is low, success with mint indoors will be a challenge. Your best bet is to grow it outdoors in the ground or in a pot, in season. It is a perennial, but like most perennials, it goes dormant—and it will go dormant; you can not fool Mother Nature. We wish we had better news…
powdery mildew
I have always used store bought milk and put it into a spray bottle and every evening at sundown I would spray it onto my plants. Works wonders. I use it every year in my pumpkin patch as well and have saved many plants that already had the powdery mildew. Definately give it a try!
Would love some advice. I
Would love some advice. I went away for a few days and my mint died. Should I keep on watering it now throughout the winter? I live in a hot climate so winter isn't super rainy at the moment.
Thanks in advance
Very helpful! I just
Very helpful! I just purchased a small plant from Walmart in memory of my Dad who use to grow mint for my grandmother's herbal remedies. I plan to let it grow as wild as it wants along my porch :)
Thanks! this really helped me
Thanks to whoever wrote this, this truly helped me with my science proyect
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