Perennial
How to grow mint
Mentha spicata and others
Mint is a hardy perennial that grows in sun or part shade in any moist, fertile soil, and the difficulty is stopping it. Plant pot-grown mint between March and May in a 30 cm container, or in a bottomless bucket sunk into the bed, so the runners cannot spread. Keep it watered, cut it hard in July for a second flush, and tip it out, divide it and replant a piece in fresh compost each spring, because a congested pot is the usual reason mint fades.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Sun to part shade
- Soil
- Moist, fertile
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- High, never let a pot dry out
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting mint
WhenPlant Mar to May (or divide Sep); harvest May to Oct; cut back Jul for a second flush
Starting off
Plant pot-grown stock Mar to May. Propagate by division in Sep or Mar: lift, chop and replant 10 cm lengths of runner horizontally 5 cm deep, which root in a fortnight. Stem tips root in a jar of water in two weeks May to Aug. Skip seed, as named mints do not come true.
Spacing and planting
One plant per 30 cm pot, or sink a bottomless bucket 30 cm deep in the bed to hold the runners; in open ground plants spread 1 m or more. Plant with the crown at soil level. The ideal container herb.
Varieties worth growing
- Spearmint
- Mentha spicata, the ordinary garden mint: the one for mint sauce, peas and new potatoes, and the most vigorous.
- Moroccan mint
- A neat spearmint with a clean, sweet flavour. The first choice for fresh mint tea and for tabbouleh.
- Bowles's mint
- Tall, with soft, round, woolly leaves and a fine flavour for mint sauce. Less troubled by rust than spearmint.
- Peppermint
- Dark leaves on purple stems with a strong menthol kick. For tea and sweets, not for savoury cooking.
- Chocolate mint
- A peppermint with a hint of chocolate in the scent, for desserts and drinks. Lower growing and a little less rampant.
Mint month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Nothing to do outdoors. Pick from any runners potted up on a windowsill in autumn.
- February
Nothing to do. Check that pots outside are draining and not standing in water.
- March
Tip out pot-grown mint, divide it and replant a healthy outer piece in fresh compost with feed. Plant new stock.
- April
Plant. Feed mint growing in beds. New shoots appear; check them for the pale, swollen growth of rust.
- May
Start picking once stems are 15 cm tall. Root stem tips in a jar of water.
- June
Pick regularly. Water pots daily in hot weather.
- July
Just before flowering, cut the whole plant to 5 cm, top-dress and water well for a second flush.
- August
Pick the new growth. Dry or freeze a batch. Leave one pot to flower for the bees.
- September
Divide and replant congested clumps in beds. Last big cut for drying.
- October
Pot up a few 10 cm lengths of runner in a tray and bring indoors for winter leaves.
- November
Cut down the dead top growth to soil level.
- December
Nothing to do. The roots are fully hardy.
Feeding mint
A moderate feeder that wants moisture first and food second. Fresh compost and a balanced feed each spring, and a top-dress after the July cut, is all it needs.
Moderate, it thrives with moisture and a spring feed.
Feeding plan
March, when repotting
5 g per litre of fresh compost, the low end of the label range, mixed through: about 60 g for a 30 cm pot holding 12 litres.
July, after cutting back, pots
2 g per litre of compost scattered on the surface and watered in: about 25 g for the 30 cm pot.
April, mint in beds
100 g/m² scattered round the clump and watered in. A clump held in a sunk bucket covers about 0.1 m² and takes 10 g.
April, mint in beds
Garden compost
A 3 cm mulch over the clump after feeding, to hold moisture.
Signs to watch
Small, pale leaves on pot mint in its second year → nitrogen gone and roots congested → repot in fresh compost with a balanced feed. Yellowing lower leaves in a soggy pot → waterlogged roots → clear drainage holes and lose the saucer. Older leaves yellow between green veins → magnesium short → Epsom salts. Bare woody centre → divide.
Pests, diseases and problems
Pale, swollen, distorted shoots in spring, then orange pustules on the stems and leaf undersides, turning yellow and later black
Mint rust, a fungus that lives on in the runners and in the soil
Dig up and bin the whole plant, runners included; do not compost it. Start again with clean bought stock in fresh compost, or in a different part of the garden. Cutting back does not clear it, because the fungus is inside the plant.
White powdery coating on the leaves in summer
Powdery mildew on a plant that is dry at the roots
Cut the stems down to 5 cm, water thoroughly and keep the compost moist. The regrowth comes clean.
Holes in the leaves, with shiny metallic green beetles and plump black grubs on the plant from June
Mint beetle
Pick the beetles and grubs off by hand. Damage is seldom serious enough to need more.
Fine pale speckling on the upper leaf surface, with small insects that jump when the plant is brushed
Leafhoppers
Tolerate it; the leaves are still good to use. A hard cut in July removes the marked foliage.
Leaves webbed together at the shoot tips with a small green caterpillar inside
Mint moth caterpillars
Pinch out the webbed tips. The damage is slight and the small purple and gold moth is worth having.
Harvest and rotation
Harvest and storage
Pick from May once stems are 15 cm tall, cutting whole stems 5 cm above the soil; flavour peaks just before flowering in Jul, when a hard cut gives a fresh flush. A 30 cm pot yields 200 to 300 g a cut, three cuts a season. Dry in bunches in a dark room for 1 to 2 weeks, or freeze in ice cubes.
Rotation and companions
No rotation needed. Never plant it loose among other herbs, as the runners smother them. Keep each mint variety in its own pot, since mixed clumps lose their distinct flavours.
Good to knowInvasive, grow it in a pot or a sunken container to keep the runners in check.
Growing mint in pots
A pot is the best place for mint. Use a 30 cm pot, one variety to a pot, filled with peat-free multipurpose or loam-based compost, and stand it in sun or part shade where you will remember to water it: mint in a pot should never dry out, though it must still drain freely. Runners circle the inside of the pot and choke it within a year or two, so each March tip the plant out, cut away the old woody centre, and replant a few vigorous outer pieces in fresh compost. If you sink a pot into a border, leave the rim 5 cm above soil level so runners cannot creep over the top.
Mint: common questions
Why has my mint got orange spots on it?
Orange spots on the stems and under the leaves are mint rust, a fungal disease. It lives inside the plant and in the surrounding soil, so cutting the mint back will not get rid of it. Bin the whole plant and its runners, then replant clean new stock in fresh compost or in a different spot.
Does mint come back every year?
Yes. Mint is a fully hardy perennial that dies back to its roots in late autumn and regrows from March. If a pot-grown plant comes back thin or only round the edge of the pot, it is congested: divide it and replant a piece in fresh compost.
Can you grow mint indoors?
Yes, on a bright windowsill, though it grows better outside. Indoors it needs as much light as you can give it, a pot at least 15 cm across and compost that is kept moist. Plants become thin and leggy over winter, so the usual approach is to keep the main plant outdoors and bring in a small pot of runners in October.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.