Mint is perennial, meaning it comes back every year. Cut back to ground level in autumn and mulch with well-rotted compost annually, to ensure a fresh crop of healthy leaves com spring.
Mint is perennial and will easily resist frost & snow, it will regrow again the following year. Place it in full sun or partial sun & water regularly but do not soak the plant. Hope you'll enjoy growing this wonderful herb. There are so many different varieties to explore!
The best way to control mint is to limit the spread of the plant's roots by planting it first in a pot, then sinking the pot into the ground or into the soil within a larger container.
These aggressive plants are difficult to contain and eliminate from the landscape. You can edge the infested areas and cover it with black plastic to starve the plants from a lack of sunlight or with clear plastic to cook the plants. This will also kill the grass and other desirable plants in the covered area.
Like cilantro and basil, mint is one of the easiest herbs to grow; however, its roots, which are called “runners,” are incredibly invasive: they quickly grow, sprouting new leaves and new plants as they go. Mint will overtake a flower bed or garden in no time if you're not careful.
But if, using a pair of sharp scissors, you nip the stem just above that node, those starter stems will grow much quicker. Do this around the plant and you'll make your plant stockier, which will actually make the mint taste better as the plant gets more overall sun, and doesn't need to use as much energy growing.
Once it's planted, you can never get rid of it. Mint (and many of its relatives) are notoriously invasive. We've planted it in large pots, but it requires constant vigilance because it keeps trying to escape.
Problems with Growing Mint
Mint is best planted in containers or where roots are confined. Mint spreads quickly in open garden areas and will out-compete most garden plants. Once established it is very hard to eradicate.
Mint spreads quickly by underground runners known as rhizomes and can quickly take over a garden bed and out-compete nearby plants.
3: Mint. Spearmint and peppermint are often noted for their ability to repel flies, fleas, and spiders in the garden. One thing to keep in mind when planting mint is that it is an invasive plant and will spread quickly.
If you're not averse to herbicides, you can eliminate mint by spraying leaves with glyphosate (i.e. RoundUp) or a similar kill-everything-green herbicide.
If you want to add it to an existing herb bed then the best way is to sink a deep bucket or tub without holes into the soil and plant into that as otherwise mint will quickly choke out the other plants. Apart from that, mint is not a fussy plant and will even grow under trees or in shade.
Mint is frost tolerant. It usually dies back in the winter but comes back in spring. Because mint tends to take over, many gardeners plant mint in a small pot and then plant that pot in the ground or inside a larger container.
Mint will grow either in full sun or part shade, though it definitely benefits from afternoon shade in the hottest regions. It also adapts readily to a variety of soils, but the ideal is moist, well-drained, and rich with organic matter.
Mint deters white cabbage moths, ants, rodents, flea beetles, fleas, and aphids. It improves the health of cabbage and tomatoes.
Do not plant Mint in the ground near your vegetables in order to prevent it from taking over your vegetable crops. Use Mint foliage as mulch or keep it in pots.
Mint is a highly vigorous plant, and if not planted in its own pot, it will spread all over the place. This is the part I Like to Grow my mint in.
Mint has a reputation for being highly invasive and can quickly take over a garden if not contained. Its vigorous spreading via underground runners makes it difficult to control.
The stolons of mint plants are some of the most aggressive in all the plant world. If you plant it in the ground, the first year you might wonder what all the fuss is about. The second year you find a few stray sprouts and by the third year it is climbing in the bedroom window.
Mint is an unusual plant in that it not only attracts beneficial insects, but repels many unwanted insects as well.
Peppermint, spearmint and lemon mint, in particular, are very aggressive plants. Those mint plants may take over your garden so plant them in a place where you can keep them under control. Some other unusual mints are not as aggressive.