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How to Grow Mint: Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Tips

Mint is an easy herb to grow in your garden and can add flavor to every meal.

Botanical Name
Mentha
Grown as
Perennial
USDA Zones
3a
3b
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
Toxicity
Toxic to Dogs and Cats
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Water Needs
Moderate
Height
1–3 feet
Spread
1–3 feet
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Summer
Flower Color
Pink
Purple
White
Special Features
Container-Friendly
Disease-Resistant
Erosion Control
Fragrant
Long Blooming
Low Maintenance
Attracts Butterflies
Attracts Hummingbirds
Attracts Pollinators
Deer-resistant
Rabbit-resistant
Resilience
Clay Soil Tolerant
Cold Hardy
Heat-Tolerant
Salt Tolerant
Plant Type
Herbs
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Mint is like that friend who’s fun to have around… but totally takes over the party if you’re not careful! With its refreshing flavor, heavenly scent, and can’t-stop-won’t-stop attitude, mint is a breeze to grow; just give it boundaries. 

Whether you’re dreaming of mojitos, mint tea, or a garden that smells like candy, we’ll show you how to plant, tame, and enjoy this spirited little herb.

Mint is a perennial herb with very fragrant, toothed leaves and tiny purple, pink, or white flowers. 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 an aromatic scent and think of candy, sweet teas, or even mint juleps.

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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 foolproof to grow, thriving in sun and shade all over North America. Since mint can be a vigorous spreader, you must 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 grow in sun or partial shade; the variegated types may require some protection from direct sun.
  • For outdoor growing, plant one or two purchased plants (or one or two cuttings from a friend) about two feet apart in moist soil. One or two plants will easily cover the ground. Mint should grow to be one or two feet tall.
  • Mint is a vigorous grower that needs to be contained, or it will send out its runners and spread all over your garden. The key is to contain the plant’s roots. Whether in the ground or above ground, plant mint in a pot. We suggest planting each mint in a 10-inch pot with drainage holes. You can then sink this pot into the ground or another larger container of soil.
  • If you are fine with mint becoming a ground cover and understand that it may become invasive, plant in its own raised bed or separate area.
  • In the garden, plant mint near cabbage and tomatoes—in pots, again, in order to prevent it from spreading and stealing nutrients from your crops!

Check out this video to learn more about how to grow mint. 

Growing

  • 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.
  • Indoor plants should be watered 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 peppermint plant can become 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.
a basket of freshly picked mint
Photo Credit: Juta/Shutterstock

Harvesting

  • 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 should be kept in water for a few days, 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 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.

propogating mint cuttings
Photo Credit: Joannawnuk/Shutterstock


 

Pests and Problems

Spacing for Mint

Types

  • 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 and Wisdom

“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)

Herbs

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Sat, 10/05/2013 - 03:13

Mint is indeed great for a horse's digestive track. For horses, we would dry the mint and then mix into feed.  For you, a mint tea might be just the thing! It's easy to make mint tea. Boil water, remove from heat, add mint leaves (15 leaves per two cups water), and steep for a few minutes. Add sweetener if desired.

 <span>Debby Schultz</span> Tue, 09/10/2013 - 11:41
I am very alergic to bees and have horses/pasture/barn/arena... and live in the mountains. I've considered planting mint everywhere and am ok if it spreads. Can you offer any advice?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 09/10/2013 - 11:54

Mint isn't a huge attractor bees but it does flower and the blossoms will attract the bees. I will add -- have you ever observed bees when they are collecting pollen? They are completely unconcerned about people. This type of bee--which is busy collecting pollen--is not aggressive towards humans (unlike some stinging insects). However, the more mint you plant, the more bees you'll get. So keep this is mind.

 <span>Roxanna Abela</span> Thu, 09/05/2013 - 16:13
I have some lovely spearmint and peppermint plants that are getting really leggy and they just started flowering. Is it to late to trim them back? Or to harvest them with out causing stress on the plants?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Sat, 09/07/2013 - 16:38

You should trim the mint flowers before the buds open to keep the plant compact. Trim them off now and keep trimming to help keep the plant compact. Harvest the tips regularly, too.
If you are getting leggy plants, this suggests that they aren't getting enough sunshine.

 <span>Raymond Mesa</span> Mon, 03/03/2014 - 01:19
If you cut the buds off the plant can spend more energy into growing, if you propagate the cuttings because they root real easy you can grow even more
<span>Myou</span> Thu, 08/15/2013 - 18:36
I've been raising a peppermint plant for most of summer now and maybe a bit back into spring. It doesn't seem to be growing much and I can't figure out why. I keep it's soil moist and give it lots of sun during the day. It's in the same kind of potting soil I bought it in. And it's still got plenty of space in the pot it's in. It looks healthy but it just ain't growing.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 08/16/2013 - 14:49

The pot may be too small for the plant. Mint roots need lots of room. If you remove the plant from the pot you'll see a tangle of roots. Get a pot twice the size of the one it's in now. If your plant has flowers pinch them off so that the energy will go into growing new leaves.

 <span>Myou</span> Fri, 08/16/2013 - 23:09
Thanks a ton! Some flowers my little brother bought just died because the people who was watching them didn't take care of em right so we couldn't save them. So I have a nice big pot to spare. I'm going to be buying new potting soil soon too so I'll move the lil guy then. And no I haven't got any flower, probably because the plant ain't had room to grow none, thanks again. Oh wait, one more question!! It says on here that loamy soil is best for mint plants. I didn't know for sure what that was and looked it up and found that there were all different types of it. What's the best recommended soil for mints? I just wanna do my plants right.
<span>Jules21</span> Mon, 08/05/2013 - 18:19
Something is eating my mint plant... i don't see anything growing around it but leaves seem to look bitten and to have holes. what can i do?