Mint

Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is an aromatic perennial in the mint family, native to Europe. It’s known as one of the best-flavored mints and is the traditional mint for mint tea and mint juleps.

The plant grows quickly to about 1–2 feet (30–60 cm) tall and wide. It spreads by underground stems (rhizomes), and its stems can also root wherever they touch the ground. Mint dies back over winter and regrows every spring, living for many years.

Plants or cuttings are the easy route. Mint is best grown from cuttings, roots or young plants, and mint seed doesn’t come true to type. It’s so easy to propagate by division or cuttings that plants are fairly inexpensive to buy.

Growing from seed. If you’d like to try seed, sow indoors in spring. Scatter the tiny seeds on the surface of moist seed-starting mix and press them in without covering them, because they need light to germinate. Keep them somewhere bright at around 68 °F (20 °C); seedlings should appear in about two weeks. When they have several leaves, move each into its own 3-inch (7.5 cm) pot.

Keep it contained. Mint spreads aggressively, so it’s best grown in a container. To grow it in a bed, sink a bottomless container (or a pot with big drainage holes) into the soil and keep its rim a little above ground level, so runners can’t creep over the edge and take root.

Sun, soil and timing. Mint is happy in full sun or partial shade, and young plants settle in best when planted in spring or fall. It grows best in rich, moist, well-drained soil and doesn’t do well in dry soil.

Watering. Pots dry out faster than garden soil, so check potted mint regularly during the growing season, especially in hot, dry weather, and keep the compost evenly moist.

Cutting back. When mint finishes flowering, cut the whole plant down to about 2 inches (5 cm). Fresh shoots follow, and you can start picking again within a few weeks.

Dividing and repotting. Because its rhizomes keep spreading, potted mint needs dividing and repotting every few years. Divide clumps in spring or fall and replant a healthy section.

Mint is generally vigorous, healthy and trouble-free; controlling its spread is usually the main issue. It may eventually take over an entire bed. To get rid of unwanted mint, dig out shoots as soon as they appear and remove as much of the roots as you can, because small pieces left in the soil can regrow.

Fungal diseases are common in spearmint, mainly rust and leaf spot. Insects such as aphids, mint beetles and mint moth caterpillars may occasionally cause some damage.

Pick leaves from late spring to fall, before the stems die back for winter. Regular picking keeps plants compact and productive, and the young, soft shoot tips have the strongest flavor. For fresh mint in winter, bring a potted plant indoors in fall and keep it on a sunny windowsill.

Mint leaves can be frozen or dried; freezing keeps their flavor better. One easy way to freeze herbs is to chop them coarsely and freeze them in ice cube trays filled with water.

Pet poison experts list mint as toxic to cats, dogs and horses; eating large amounts can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Not every mint is a kitchen herb. Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) is listed as harmful if eaten, so buy plants from a reputable supplier to be sure you get a correctly named culinary mint.