How to Grow Mint

Mint is a delicious, multi-purpose herb that can enhance the flavor of fruit salads, lamb and fish dishes, and can even be added to iced teas or cocktails. Mint has many types, all types are easy to grow and can grow for many years with good care. However, it is an invasive plant and can compete with surrounding trees if allowed to grow freely. When growing mint, you should plant it in a pot or find measures to limit the growth of roots below the ground.

Table of Contents

Find mint varieties

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Take a sprig of mint from the growing plant. Peppermint is difficult to grow from seed, and seeding is virtually impossible for some mint varieties, such as spearmint. Cut a mint branch about 10 cm long, about 1 cm above the node so that the new shoots will grow in their place. A branch doesn’t have to have many leaves, and so should almost any branch. Stick the branch in a cup of water and remove all the leaves that are submerged in the water. ^{[1] X Research Source} Within a week, small white root fibers will appear underwater. Wait a few more days to a week for the roots to grow to the proper length.

Add water to the cup if necessary. Make sure to change the water every 4-5 days to avoid rotting.

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Buy seedlings or small plants. You can find baby mint plants at most nurseries and gardening stores. There are different varieties of mint, such as sweet mint, chocpate mint, spearmint, lemon mint, apple mint, and peppermint. Spearmint is the most commonly used mint variety in cooking. Mint is a fast-growing, fast-spreading plant that is ideal for beginners.

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Find the trunk of a growing tree. Stems are long branches that reach out and take root in the ground. You can carefully dig up and plant. If you have friends who are growing mint, you can ask for a few segments of the stem to plant.

Planting mint

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Choose the best time to plant mint. Spring is the best time to plant mint, or you can plant in the fall if there is no frost where you live. Although mint is a hardy plant, you should still plant at the most favorable time.

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Plant a rooted seedling or branch in a pot. Growing mint in a pot is the most popular way to grow because it is easy to control, moreover you can put the pot near the kitchen to use it regularly. Mints spread very quickly, and their roots often interfere with the roots of other plants. ^{[2] X Research Source} So it’s best to grow mint in a separate pot. Use a pot about 30-40 cm wide for one plant.

You should add a water-retaining ppymer to the soil to keep it moist and avoid drying out. You can also use perlite or vermiculite instead of ppymer. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Mint plant care

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Water regularly. During the first year of planting mint, you need to water it regularly. ^{[7] X Research Source} Use your finger to check the dryness in the soil. You need to keep the soil moist but not soggy. If you plant the plant in direct sunlight, you will need to water it more often. Check regularly to make sure the plant is getting enough water, but not too much.

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Trim the top of the tree. This way you can control the height of the plant, and at the same time keep the leaves lush and round around the tree. ^{[8] X Research Source} This also helps with the harvesting. When checking plants to see if they need watering, look out for them if they grow too tall.

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Cut off flower buds to keep the plant tidy. Mint plants usually produce tiny flowers from June to September. You should prune the flowers before they bloom so that the plant doesn’t grow out of control. Breaking the flower buds on the plant when they appear also helps you to prolong the harvest season.

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Split the tree every two or three years. ^{[9] X Research Source} Only do this step if you have a potted plant. After a few years, the mint will grow to oversize the pot and the pot will become too cramped for the roots. Remove the plant from the pot and separate into several small plants. Separating the plant and replanting it every two or three years, even three or four years will help keep the mint flavor strong and aromatic.

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Treat mint with an antifungal spray if the plant has rust. Rust, a fungal infection that forms brown-orange patches on the undersides of leaves, is one of the few diseases to which mint plants are susceptible.

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Watch out for pests and diseases. Mint plants can suffer from diseases such as verticillium wilt or ring spot; In addition, the plant can also be infested with insects such as jumping beetles or tapioca beetles that damage the roots. ^{[10] X Research Sources} However, this is less likely due to the strong scent of mint which repels insects and other pests. You just need to allow air to circulate and maintain good drainage in the soil to keep the plant healthy. If you see insects, you can use a garden hose to spray them away.

You can also wash the leaves with antibacterial soap.
Be sure to look for insects even on the undersides of leaves. That’s where they like to hide.

Mint harvest

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Pick fresh mint leaves of your choice from late spring to early fall. Never pick more than 1/3 of the leaves at once, and let the plant grow back before harvesting again. You can only pick mint enough to use when needed.

If you want to dry mint leaves, you should hang the branches upside down. Divide into bundles and tie them with string or elastic, or spread them out on a flat surface. When leaves and twigs appear dry and brittle, pluck the leaves and store them in a jar, zip-lock bag, or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. ^{[11] X Research Source}

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Harvest as much as you can before the frost hits each year. The roots can survive frosts and will regrow the following spring, but the plant above the ground will die. You should protect the roots by covering the tree with mulch before winter arrives. To harvest mint leaves, cut off the branches. If the harvest is larger, you should wait until just before the plant blooms and cut the entire plant above the first or second pair of leaves.

Normally, you can harvest about 3 big crops in one season.

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Use mint. There are countless ways to use mint, and you can make it any way you want. However, there are some common mint uses that you should be aware of. Here are a few great ways to use mint:

Serve with fish, chicken, lamb or other protein dishes to enhance the flavor of the dish.
Used as a seasoning for vegetable dishes such as carrots, beans and potatoes.
Spice up salads like fruit salad, beet and figs salad or walnut and goat cheese salad.
Use mint in drinks like iced tea, punch or lemonade.
Use in cocktails like mojito or mint julep.

Advice

Make a fence if you want to grow mint in the garden. Bury the bottomless bucket in the soil and place the roots inside. That way the mint won’t spread too far.
Consider growing spearmint and spearmint as they have many uses and are the most popular culinary mints. For a more unique flavor, you might consider growing varieties of white peppermint, chocpate mint, apple mint, bergamot mint, basil mint, lemon mint, lime mint, or curly mint, among others.
Try to plant mint away from other plants, as they spread very easily and quickly and will take up a small garden of other herbs.
Cut the mint sprigs and leaves above the leaf clusters. Leave at least one cluster of leaves on each main stem and the stems left should be at least 7.5 cm (from the ground) height. This method also produces luxuriant, shorter mint plants (which is good) because the plant will be forced to branch out and grow more leaves.

Warning

Do not allow potted mint to touch the ground or crawl into other potted plants. The healthy shoots of mint can take root in the ground, even though they are still attached to the parent plant.
If you see mint in bloom, remove the flowers to preserve the quality of the leaves. Flowers blooming on trees look beautiful but will take all the energy used to feed the leaves of the tree.
Mints are invasive, meaning they spread very quickly if kept in good conditions. You should plant mint in a pot and away from other plants. Make sure the pot doesn’t crack, as mint roots can grow through crevices.

Things you need

Baby mint
Mint
Pots
Bottomless plant pots
Glass of water

Steps