Hi, I bought a pot of spearmint plant recently for food garnish purpose, and since I don't know much about gardening, I depend alot on information found online.
I have some questions here, and hope mint plants experts in this forum can help me with them, Thank you so much!
[img]https://img29.imageshack.us/img29/7503/img0238bi.jpg[/img]
Pic1. This pic is taken on the day I bought my spearmint from a nursery.
[img]https://img32.imageshack.us/img32/1748/dsc0597my.jpg[/img]
Pic2. Two weeks since I bought my plant.
[img]https://img17.imageshack.us/img17/4797/dsc0904ej.jpg[/img]
Pic3. Four weeks since I bought my plant.
[img]https://img835.imageshack.us/img835/2595/dsc0910ag.jpg[/img]
Pic4. Four weeks since I bought my plant.
My concerns are... in pic2 my plant is still standing up but in pic3 my mint plants seems to fall aside, and they don't stand up straight (esp the side ones). Are these normal? I place the plant on the corridor, and every morning the plants wil get around 3hrs of direct sunlight on a sunny day, when the sun shines in from the left side of the picture ( I live in Singapore)
When I first noticed they don't stand up straight I thought they're dying, but after sometime they seems still growing, with more branches and leaves (pic4).
I fertilize the plant twice a month, and water them once to twice a day depends on the weather and soil dryness condition.
From the pictures, is my mint plant doing well? Is it a must to trim them cause now they look very bushy?
Thank you all!
Two more questions here:
[img]https://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9206/img0339xi.jpg[/img]
Is this the correct way to migrate sprigs of mint cutting? Soak it in water for a few weeks until the roots grown and then plant them into pot? During this period its in the glass of water do they still need as much sunshine as the ones in pot?
[img]https://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9774/img0342zf.jpg[/img]
I checked on my mint every weekend and often find some leaves with brown spots like this, not many, about 5 or 6 leaves everytime, and I pluck the leaves away, afraid they will transfer to other leaves. I read somewhere they might due to over watering?
Thank you!
[img]https://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9206/img0339xi.jpg[/img]
Is this the correct way to migrate sprigs of mint cutting? Soak it in water for a few weeks until the roots grown and then plant them into pot? During this period its in the glass of water do they still need as much sunshine as the ones in pot?
[img]https://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9774/img0342zf.jpg[/img]
I checked on my mint every weekend and often find some leaves with brown spots like this, not many, about 5 or 6 leaves everytime, and I pluck the leaves away, afraid they will transfer to other leaves. I read somewhere they might due to over watering?
Thank you!
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rainbowgardener
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It looks way over crowded in a small pot. I'm guessing it's a whole bunch of plants that they stuck in there to make it look full and bushy. Get a bunch more pots in a larger size and potting soil and divide them up. Mint is easy to dig and divide. It will start from cuttings also, but I think just dividing the plant is easier.
Mint is prone to spots like that, but in my experience it never really harms the plants, so just pick them and don't worry about it. Once it is established, mint is very tough and hardy and hard to kill, not particularly disease prone. And while it survives almost anything, it likes plenty of water, so is less sensitive to over watering than a lot of things in your garden.
Mint is prone to spots like that, but in my experience it never really harms the plants, so just pick them and don't worry about it. Once it is established, mint is very tough and hardy and hard to kill, not particularly disease prone. And while it survives almost anything, it likes plenty of water, so is less sensitive to over watering than a lot of things in your garden.
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Jeremy brua
- Senior Member
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In the garden, the stems that hang over the edge of the pot would take root in the ground anywhere they touched. It spreads underground, overground, and from seeds. I never fertilize it. I always plant mint in the ground inside a #10 can with the top and bottom cut out. It still gets away, but it takes longer.
I don't dare to dig and divide them up yet, worried I might kill them, and the stem seems alot and all tangled up, but I think I'll trim them a bit, thank you so much for your replyrainbowgardener wrote:It looks way over crowded in a small pot. I'm guessing it's a whole bunch of plants that they stuck in there to make it look full and bushy. Get a bunch more pots in a larger size and potting soil and divide them up. Mint is easy to dig and divide. It will start from cuttings also, but I think just dividing the plant is easier.
Mint is prone to spots like that, but in my experience it never really harms the plants, so just pick them and don't worry about it. Once it is established, mint is very tough and hardy and hard to kill, not particularly disease prone. And while it survives almost anything, it likes plenty of water, so is less sensitive to over watering than a lot of things in your garden.
I'm more concern abt my mint plant being not stand upright, is this normal? the stem curved horizontally and some even touches the ground.
I seen many new branches and stems growing but they all don't stand upright and instead the stem curved down, I don't know what's the problem...RogueRose wrote:I have never been able to kill mint either. It also grows far too fast and spreads like crazy. It's like a weed. So what I do when I can't use it fast enough is cut it down - all down. Or if you plan to use some soon, only some down. It keeps it under control and it bounced back quickly.
I can only keep my plants in pots....estorms wrote:In the garden, the stems that hang over the edge of the pot would take root in the ground anywhere they touched. It spreads underground, overground, and from seeds. I never fertilize it. I always plant mint in the ground inside a #10 can with the top and bottom cut out. It still gets away, but it takes longer.
It's so nice to have a garden of your own
Wish I have one too!-
rainbowgardener
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The problem is they are too crowded and have no room to stand up and are being pushed over by the ones next to them. It's not really a problem for awhile (until the crowding gets more severe), but if you want them standing up, divide the plants like I said and give them more room.casryn wrote:I seen many new branches and stems growing but they all don't stand upright and instead the stem curved down, I don't know what's the problem...RogueRose wrote:I have never been able to kill mint either. It also grows far too fast and spreads like crazy. It's like a weed. So what I do when I can't use it fast enough is cut it down - all down. Or if you plan to use some soon, only some down. It keeps it under control and it bounced back quickly.
I'll find time for a trip to the nursery to get stuff needed. Thank you for the advice!rainbowgardener wrote:The problem is they are too crowded and have no room to stand up and are being pushed over by the ones next to them. It's not really a problem for awhile (until the crowding gets more severe), but if you want them standing up, divide the plants like I said and give them more room.casryn wrote:I seen many new branches and stems growing but they all don't stand upright and instead the stem curved down, I don't know what's the problem...RogueRose wrote:I have never been able to kill mint either. It also grows far too fast and spreads like crazy. It's like a weed. So what I do when I can't use it fast enough is cut it down - all down. Or if you plan to use some soon, only some down. It keeps it under control and it bounced back quickly.
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applestar
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Presence of ants may indicate sucking insects. Give the entire plant a good rinse in the sink with cool water. Ants themselves are not harmful, but move the plant to foil them since they sometimes BRING sucking insects to "pasture" on your plants.
I agree with rainbowgardener. The plant will do better if divided. If the plant is stressed, it will be more prone to predation and disease. Overcrowded condition can also invite mold/fungal disease.
Don't be afraid. Water the plant well and slip the plant out of the pot. Now take a big sharp (or serrated) knife and cut the rootball vertically in half -- just like cutting a melon (sort of). Now tease the stems apart but don't be concerned if some break off. You can just use those leaves or you can put them in water to grow roots like you were doing before.
Now you can pot up the two halves in two pots same size as the one you had before. Voilà! You have TWO mint plants.
Haircut time! Trim about 1/5 to 1/4 of the growth from the top. This will compensate for the root loss and will promote bushy new growth.
After 24 hrs in a location with no direct sunlight, you can move the newly uppotted plants to a bright location. I think a location that gets a bit more light -- more intense or longer period of direct sun -- than you had before might be better. I think the stems are looking elongated with longer internodes (lengths of stem between leaves) than they were when the plant first came home.
I agree with rainbowgardener. The plant will do better if divided. If the plant is stressed, it will be more prone to predation and disease. Overcrowded condition can also invite mold/fungal disease.
Don't be afraid. Water the plant well and slip the plant out of the pot. Now take a big sharp (or serrated) knife and cut the rootball vertically in half -- just like cutting a melon (sort of). Now tease the stems apart but don't be concerned if some break off. You can just use those leaves or you can put them in water to grow roots like you were doing before.
Now you can pot up the two halves in two pots same size as the one you had before. Voilà! You have TWO mint plants.
Haircut time! Trim about 1/5 to 1/4 of the growth from the top. This will compensate for the root loss and will promote bushy new growth.
After 24 hrs in a location with no direct sunlight, you can move the newly uppotted plants to a bright location. I think a location that gets a bit more light -- more intense or longer period of direct sun -- than you had before might be better. I think the stems are looking elongated with longer internodes (lengths of stem between leaves) than they were when the plant first came home.
Mints do grow fast. You could put them in more light. That way they will not be so lanky.
Give them a close haircut, most herbs like to be picked.
Mint can die in a pot, but it is hard to kill. Lift the plant out of the pot to check the roots. If the roots are winding around the pot it is time to divide.
I use an old bread knife (it is serrated), take the plant out of the pot and cut it up like a pie into 4 pieces. It is easier to slice it from the bottom.
Pull the pieces part and plant each piece in a new pot with new potting soil.
Keep it moist and cropped.
If you allow the roots to continue to wind around the pot, the mint will strangle itself. Just when it looks really full and nice is when it needs to be divided.
Give them a close haircut, most herbs like to be picked.
Mint can die in a pot, but it is hard to kill. Lift the plant out of the pot to check the roots. If the roots are winding around the pot it is time to divide.
I use an old bread knife (it is serrated), take the plant out of the pot and cut it up like a pie into 4 pieces. It is easier to slice it from the bottom.
Pull the pieces part and plant each piece in a new pot with new potting soil.
Keep it moist and cropped.
If you allow the roots to continue to wind around the pot, the mint will strangle itself. Just when it looks really full and nice is when it needs to be divided.
I'm hoping my two new little mint plants get as big as yours!! I had one before, potted and in my kitchen window, but it didn't survive the move... I did have lovely dried mint though after the move though. Starting again, this time outside where it can really grow.
(and thanks to the other posters about dividing mint plants - I'm hoping I need that advice in the coming months!)
(and thanks to the other posters about dividing mint plants - I'm hoping I need that advice in the coming months!)
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ElizabethB
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As several other posters have said mint in the garden is a nightmare. Almost impossible to get rid of. I like growing mint in hanging baskets - 12". I hang them on the edge of the patio cover. Nice plants and easy to access for harvesting. You little pot is definately over crowded. If you want to start new plants just put your cuttings in soil and keep moist - not soggy. I am not a fan of starting in water.
Have you tried chocolate mint? Yummy!
Have you tried chocolate mint? Yummy!
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MasonSebastian
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I bought this mint plant in a seedling bank sometime in march. pinched of a couple of buds on top and it grew more leaves in a couple of days. watered them everyday because our temps now at 36-37 celsius. I decided to put 14-14-14 fertilizer in the morning. when I came back at night, the plant withered. did the fertilizer kill the weed, or I just over watered?
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mattie g
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Too true. We've had a mint plant in a pot for about six or seven years, and we've never done anything to it. It sits outside all year long on the shady side of the house, and we never water or fertilize it. And each spring it sprouts like new.estorms wrote:If you have had it since March and it died the day after you fertilized it, that probably had something to do with it although it sounds like you over watered it too. You don't need to fertilize mint.
Pretty amazing, actually!