Mints

[Tormahto]

If you really want them filling in, by plants branching out, pinch off the tops when they are over 6" tall.

[pepperhead212]

I pinch them off, as needed, largest ones at a time, and when they get to maybe 10", I slice about 2" off the tops at a time, and toss it around some areas of my garden, as an insect repellent. It also slows them down from flowering, and the flavor stays better, though eventually, they will flower - later in the season I'm spending too much time on the rest of the garden to fool with it!

[pepperhead212]

Here's that mint patch yesterday, showing how it totally filled in, and about the same time as last season. I have done nothing to it, except scratched a little kelp fertilizer into it, before anything came up. And there are only 2 weeds visible in the entire patch - maybe some clover underneath, but that's it! It chokes everything out.
Mint patch 6-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

One of two weeds visible in the mint patch. 6-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[SpookyShoe]

I don't see these offered here every year, so when I saw this I snagged one. Get the rum and lime juice ready.

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[GoDawgs]

I've had a Kentucky Colonel mint (spearmint) in a pot for years. It gets scraggly and then flushes nice and full, back and forth. It's not been planted out because I don't want it everywhere. But it makes some really good mojitos and juleps! That reminds me that I need to divide and repot it this spring.

[Cranraspberry]

Has anyone tried both Mojito and Kentucky Colonel? We only have room for one mint pot, and last year our local nursery had Kentucky Colonel which smelled the best out of all the other varieties, but the plants were in really rough shape so I didn’t get any. This year they’ve already put out some herbs, no KC yet, but the Mojito also smells great.

[Cranraspberry]

Also last year we grew some random spearmint that I propagated from a branch that someone shared with us. I really didn’t like that mint - it had a strange, almost moldy undertone to it that was quite unpleasant. So now I’m pretty picky about our mint options.

[pepperhead212]

That spearmint you described might be what I got seeds for a few years ago. Totally unlike the spearmint I grow, which doesn't produce seeds, even though it flowers - just sends out runners. I only got the seeds for it because I wanted to try it indoors - the spearmint started from cuttings indoors, no matter what I did, while peppermint never got them! That "spearmint" from seed grew well, with no aphids indoors, but horrible flavor, so I eventually pulled it.

[bower]

Mints have not been doing too great in my garden since I stopped watering and left it to be rain fed. Apple mint and spearmint from early days are gone. Mainly I think that more grass took over and the mints have not been the queens of neglect that I've enjoyed in other locations. They seem to thrive better in deciduous shade situations.
I have a new spearmint that a friend brought me a couple of years ago, which is doing alright near a rose bush. But instead of staying thick where it was planted, it seems to be a wanderer, leaving the home spot to come up further along. I also have a peppermint that I bought the same year, and it is even stranger because it has stayed in its original clump and didn't spread at all. That one has a brown stem.
My other two mints are wild or feral local ones. The river mint has purplish stems and is a spearmint type taste with more rounded leaves. Although it grows on the river bank and right in the water, it's very adaptable to garden situations and hanging in there in spite of the aggressive grass around the black currants. And I have a peppermint from the head of the pond, also found growing right in the water, which I keep having to rescue and replant in the garden. It suffers if it gets dry, and it's a wanderer, leaving the place planted and coming up along. Very delicious for tea with silky soft, lighter green leaves and stems. I've assumed that these were probably brought by settlers, but it's possible they are wild and native. The pond mint definitely needs a wet situation, so I'm doubtful it was a garden plant.

[Tormahto]

Has anyone tried both Mojito and Kentucky Colonel? We only have room for one mint pot, and last year our local nursery had Kentucky Colonel which smelled the best out of all the other varieties, but the plants were in really rough shape so I didn’t get any. This year they’ve already put out some herbs, no KC yet, but the Mojito also smells great.

I wouldn't worry about plant parts above ground being in rough shape. Take a peek at the roots below the potting soil line for good health. That's the sign of a mint plant that will recover. I've never bought potted mint, and wonder how much roots one gets in a pot. With mint in my garden, there is an overabundance of roots.

[Lemonboy]

Has anyone tried both Mojito and Kentucky Colonel? We only have room for one mint pot, and last year our local nursery had Kentucky Colonel which smelled the best out of all the other varieties, but the plants were in really rough shape so I didn’t get any. This year they’ve already put out some herbs, no KC yet, but the Mojito also smells great.

Kentucky Colonel has large slightly ruffled leaves. Mine also has occasional flecks of yellow on some leaves. It's not strongly variegated though. The leaves aren't too thick and muddle well. The flavor is a balanced spearmint with moderate menthol and not too much sweetness.

Mojito is sweeter with smaller leaves and a uniform green on square green stems. It's very aromatic and smells like it will be very strong but it isn't. If you just want the fragrance it's best. Although I tend to just cut fresh when I need it and don't get up early to harvest or anything like that so an early morning harvest might be more intense.

I prefer the Kentucky Colonel in lemonade, tea, and most drinks. Mojito is for anything with lime juice as a base like limeade, a mojito, and rarely a Cuba Libre. I don't recommend it, or KC either, in a Margarita. If you only have room for one pot, you can grow them together. They're very easy to tell apart.

Santa Fe and Ginger Mint could be planted with them. If you water often mint doesn't need a deep planter, although if you use a wide one you're better leaving some space and letting it grow to fill it. Also, be ready to prune aggressively to prevent one type from monopolizing the space.

If you need a source fragrantfields.com has dozens of varieties. The owner developed and patented most of them in the late 90s and early 00s. I think the patents have all expired within the last couple years. So more of his varieties are showing up in local nurseries. He still has the best variety and even with shipping (USPS) his prices are very reasonable.

[Lemonboy]

Here's that mint patch yesterday, showing how it totally filled in, and about the same time as last season. I have done nothing to it, except scratched a little kelp fertilizer into it, before anything came up. And there are only 2 weeds visible in the entire patch - maybe some clover underneath, but that's it! It chokes everything out.

I'd pull that "weed" in the middle. I'd bet it's doing okay because it has deep roots. It looks like a tree to me. Anyone who's ever tried to get a mulberry or elm out of their yard will tell you that if you let them get a toehold chances are good they'll take a foothold too.

[Tormahto]

Here's that mint patch yesterday, showing how it totally filled in, and about the same time as last season. I have done nothing to it, except scratched a little kelp fertilizer into it, before anything came up. And there are only 2 weeds visible in the entire patch - maybe some clover underneath, but that's it! It chokes everything out.

I'd pull that "weed" in the middle. I'd bet it's doing okay because it has deep roots. It looks like a tree to me. Anyone who's ever tried to get a mulberry or elm out of their yard will tell you that if you let them get a toehold chances are good they'll take a foothold too.

Been there, done that.

I have one smallish area of the garden that I let go wild, with raspberries, wild black raspberries, wild blackberries, weeds, sunchokes, and who knows what else. I usually can walk within about 5 feet of the middle of it during the spring and late fall. A few years ago a mulberry shot up to about 7 feet by the end of the growing season, taller than most everything else. Previously, I never knew it was there. I've been slowly clearing the area, saving plants worth saving. The brambles are slow going. The mulberry, tiny poor tasting fruit, all sugar no flavor, took some time to dig out.

[Stitchingmom]

Wow. What a wonderful thread. I haven't found anything but spearmint and peppermint at any seed place I've looked at.
I have a ton of Basil varieties. Any hints on what seed places carry these?

[Lemonboy]

Wow. What a wonderful thread. I haven't found anything but spearmint and peppermint at any seed place I've looked at.
I have a ton of Basil varieties. Any hints on what seed places carry these?

Mint doesn't come up true to type from seed. Most of the new varieties are hybrids or sports that people have discovered by planting thousands of seeds and selecting the one or two plants that are worth keeping. New varieties can be patented which gives the breeder control for 20 years. They can then license the right to sell cuttings. If your local nursery propogates patented plants they're supposed to pay a fee to the developer. Once the patent expires anyone can use them at no cost.

Your best bet is to wait til spring and either find plants or find someone to share cuttings. Fresh mint is easy to root too so if your grocery sells cut herbs that's also an option. If you do get seed it should be spearmint or peppermint. You can find people claiming to sell seed of pineapple mint or some other variety, but it's basically an F2 generation of a hybrid and likely to be quite variable. And some things like mountain mint or Korean mint aren't really mints at all. In any event, you'll still want to plant many plants and select the best ones as a source of cuttings if you do plant seeds. That can take a while but you may find something nice. Starting with something nice is much faster.

[worth1]

I like San Francisco mint myself.
But highly illegal to propagate.

[Cranraspberry]

I wouldn't worry about plant parts above ground being in rough shape. Take a peek at the roots below the potting soil line for good health. That's the sign of a mint plant that will recover. I've never bought potted mint, and wonder how much roots one gets in a pot. With mint in my garden, there is an overabundance of roots.

I probably should have just grabbed one. It was very late in the season (I spent all summer trying to talk myself into liking the existing mint we were growing), and the plants were very yellow and scraggly and did not look like something they should be charging $8 for. Hopefully this year they bring in more Kentucky Colonel!

[Cranraspberry]

@Lemonboy wow, thank you so much for such an amazing detailed comparison! You might have just talked me into getting a bigger grow bag and planting both together, because those both sound amazing. Our primary use is for iced tea - I drink a ton of it all summer long, but we also make the occasional julep and mojito.
I will definitely check that website out, I’m pretty sure I came across it when I was reading about KC. It will be a good backup option if our local nursery doesn’t get any stock this year. Do you think it would make sense to buy a small 4” Mojito plant now while they have them and they are green and healthy looking?

[Lemonboy]

@Lemonboy wow, thank you so much for such an amazing detailed comparison! You might have just talked me into getting a bigger grow bag and planting both together, because those both sound amazing. Our primary use is for iced tea - I drink a ton of it all summer long, but we also make the occasional julep and mojito.
I will definitely check that website out, I’m pretty sure I came across it when I was reading about KC. It will be a good backup option if our local nursery doesn’t get any stock this year. Do you think it would make sense to buy a small 4” Mojito plant now while they have them and they are green and healthy looking?

If they have a healthy plant you could buy one and, when it's time to give it a trim you could try rooting some cuttings. It will grow fine on a window sill for a few months as long as it drains between watering but doesn't dry out completely. Just be careful because, in a small pot, dry can becomes crunchy faster than you'd think. If it gets rootbound just slice in in half or into thirds and repot the divisions, each one in it's own pot. If your cuttings grow well and you decide to just pitch the old plant make sure it's dead before you put it in the compost pile. It's much sturdier outside and can be invasive if it finds a spot it can grow in.

[Cranraspberry]

I currently have these two mints on my window sill - a Mojito and a Kentucky Colonel! When would you typically transplant these out to the garden?

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