Growing mint is easy if you know the best way to grow mint. It doesn’t matter if you live in the desert, warm areas of the Pacific Northwest or in Florida because growing mint will thrive in any location provided you know how to control it. Mint should be part of your garden every year because it makes a delicious after dinner snack and it is aromatic and sweet too.
Mint can be grown on a windowsill, on a patio or balcony. To keep the plant under control, it is best to grow it in a small pot on a patio or balcony. In addition to being inexpensive, it is beautiful to look at and is easy to maintain. It even pays off to grow mint somewhere in your yard, especially in a small hole large enough to fit a large pot with drainage holes at the bottom. This way you can get rid of the leaves occasionally to help them dry up faster. Mint is one of those herbs that will flourish where others have failed.
When choosing a location for your mint, keep in mind that the area has a lot of sun so that it can always be sunny. Plant mint where the soil is moist but not wet. Mint likes well placed sunlight but does not do well in shady areas. Mint tends to grow on the stems and leaves so it is best to avoid planting it in the middle of the stems. If the leaves are not showing white, cut them back to create an open area.
Mint is a perennial and spreads by rhizomes. It can spread as quickly as two years. Mint will not spread underground, so it is best to put the plants in separate pots before spreading them. Mint should be planted in partial sun and water the plants well in the morning. The location of the potting soil should be between the main trunk and the largest branches.
To propagate mint, you must prune the plant regularly. You should choose a time of day when the temperature is cooler and do not use any fertilizer. Mint will not do well in well-draining soil. The best time of day for planting is during early spring when temperatures are warm and there is plenty of moisture. You need to be sure to remove the dead leaves well-before they start to die back.
How to get it started? Plant the seeds about six inches deep, using two plants if possible, and spreading them over an approximately equal area. Do not place the seeds directly into full sun because it will shade the plants. Full sun will make the leaves turn black. Mint is not an annual, so it will continue to grow until the first frost. After that, it will stop growing until the next year when you can try again.
Some of the best varieties to plant are the true lemon, blueberry mint and garden marigold. These varieties do not have leaves that grow down like most of the others. It will be difficult to get the full flavor out of the leaves but you do not have to worry about being bothered by ants or mites since these varieties only have the tops of their leaves growing down.
Mint does very well in containers. They can be grown indoors with the aid of an indoor container gardening system. The other great thing about a perennial plant like this is that you do not have to prune it as often. If you want to have a new plant each year, all you need to do is just remove the old plant from your garden and replace it with a new one. This allows you to grow more of them since annuals require replanting every year. Annuals can be hard to grow in containers and grow roots to break them up, which causes them to die after the first year.