How to cultivate Spearmint?

[benali]

I'm in the midwest, hardiness zone 5b. I have some peppermint growing in my yard. It grows fantastic, almost like a weed.

Meanwhile I've found I have a couple small sprigs of spearmint growing wild, in near total shade, underneath larger bushes, in very moist areas. Every year I get a few sprigs popping up, located randomly in different random places around the yard.

I lke the spearmint and want to cultivate it. Do you think next year I could carefully transplant it? Would it survive that? I want to collect it into a small area beneath a quince bush. That location would make a nice little garden for collecting its leaves for tea, etc. I'm hoping it would grow there every year. Would do think, would this work?

Thanks for your advice.

[wysteriangnome]

There are probably a lot of people on here that know a lot more than I do, but I too have mint growing in my yard abundantly. It was here when we moved in, then I bought another one and added it to another area where there is more sun, which it doesn't seem to like very much. (The one I bought was actually called 'chocolate mint') I have made big jugs of sun tea on a few occasions, and it tasted great! I also pick & eat it right off the plant quite often, so good for upset stomach.

I am watching for responses. I would like to move mine as well (the one in the sun) but I'm a little nervous to do so. I tried moving a 'Stevia' plant once, thinking I had found a better spot and it did not take to the move.

All the best.

[rainbowgardener]

Mint is a very tough plant and transplants easily. I would be careful about planting it in the ground though, because once established in a spot it likes (slightly dampish and not full sun), it will spread like wildfire. I have lemon balm (in the mint family) that I thought was very cool and harvest for herbal teas. But it is now becoming a weed in my garden, that I have to keep pulling out of all kinds of places. They spread by runners and by seed if allowed to flower.

Think about planting it in to a container. I like the look of containers mixed in to in-the-ground gardens.

[imafan26]

I have mint growing as a weed in the herb garden. We just keep having to dig it out. It is spearmint. Mints are tamer in pots, but they need to be divided often or they will strangle themselves. They are easy to propagate from sprigs or roots.

[benali]

Thanks everyone. Yes, I have peppermint in my yard and it definitely grows here like a weed. Tough and aggressive. I've found it propagates like a vine, and it's easy to cut off a piece and transplant it.

The spearmint I have seems to have a very different growth habit. It's growing wild in almost total shade, in areas that are very moist and relatively cool even in summer. As I say, it pops up at random places like that in my yard every year. But it doesn't have the tough viney like nature of my peppermint. I just see an individual tiny plant every now and then. It's certainly not aggressive and seems almost delicate, which is why I thought I might post about it before trying to transplant some of it next season.

Thanks for the feedback. If I'm lucky it will do as well and be as hardy as yours, Imafan26. I'd rather it be a nuisance than fade away on me. Thanks again.

[Susan W]

I agree, transplant some in the spring. If it is growing in the yard at least it smells good when you mow! As much as mint can be aggressive, can also be ticky and have problems. Trust me, but that's a different thread!