iGrow ~and you can, too~ No.2 Mint

Mint {Mentha}

Chocolate mint

Notice the purple toned stem

Just planted last fall

One of my all time favorite plants "mint" there are so many varieties to chose from. Like Apple, Banana, Pineapple,and Chocolate. You can even get varieties dating back to biblical times, such as the Habek variety, Just to name a few. I know some of you are offended by mint's vigorous growth habits and it's tendency to overstep it bounds.

Apple Mint

Thicker, slightly fuzzy leaves

Just planted a couple weeks ago

I just love it. It's great fun to grow with kids.

A fun identifying feature, mint stems are square.

I wouldn't plant it in my front display bedbut it certainly does a nice job of filling difficult or unsightly areas like slopes or behind the shed...an added bonus is you can set your mower up high and mow it or weed eat it and the air is filled with the fresh invigorating scent. I'd grow it as a lawn if the stems weren't so woody- just to mow it and breath he invigorating sweet aroma. I also use it a lot in my all time favorite mint lemonade as well as in my fresh Vietnamese spring rolls.

Spearmint

Sharper serrated leaf edges

planted last fall

It is a fast grower, can adapt to drier conditions once established but still needs regular moisture. Sun to part shade. In the ground or in containers. There's a mint for everyone. And I've grown it successfully even here in dry, windy, cold, hot, intensely close to the sun Colorado.

Peppermint

common

planted last fall

I am not a professional, these a just my opinions. What works for me, may not work for you.

Easy to grow if you dig a hole bigger than the pot, add a handful or two of some compost. Fill the hole with water, put the plant in and backfill around the plant with the original soil mixed with a couple more handfuls of compost. Water it every day for the first two weeks, then about three times amweek the first year to establish the roots.

4-8 hours of sun or more and water regularly (2-3 times a week) should be all you need to grow successful plants.