Mint - would I be mad to...

[didireallysaythat]

..just plant it out ?

I kill mint in pots. The herb border is already solid with lemon balm (so it would have competition). Or should I just plant it in the pot it's in ?

[NanTheWiser]

Usual advice to keep it under control is to plant it in a bottomless bucket - it spreads by underground stolons (runners), but not from very deep down.

[SugarPlumTree]

Mine is in the pot it came from and pretty well behaved.

[Starman16]

It will spread everywhere and from my experience very very quickly...so if you are cool with that then go for it! With regards to growing in pots, I can get pot bound very quickly so best to repot every year or so, taking out most of the plant and replanting just a bit of it, or rooting a new cutting. It also does die back completely over winter - apologies if stating the obvious - but just in case you thought you'd killed it and it's just that it hasn't come back up for summer yet!

[shovetheholly]

No, for God's sake do NOT put it in the ground!! I speak from bitter experience. I am still pulling up reams of the bloody stuff, having made that mistake 5 years ago.

If it's dying, it's probably too dry. Put it in non-terracotta pot, in a a really shady, wet place and it will be fine. I grow mine in a bright purple trug with a broken handle on a north-facing patio in the shadow of the house. I just drilled some holes in the bottom for drainage.

[Polyanthus]

Ooh I like The idea of using a plastic trug - I have used plastic pots but just in the usual planter size - a true would be a much better idea and would be easier to keep a larger pot moist. Plus the bright colour would look against the green leaves - am definitley pinching that idea, thank you!

[WordGetsAround]

Good plan - you'll need loads of it for pimms!

[GreenMarkerPen]

yes. my parents made that mistake. they basically have to lawn left.
smells lovely kicking the ball with the dc :o

[GreenMarkerPen]

they have no lawn left...

[Qwebec]

IME bottomless bucket would not work. I grow mint in a pot on my balcony. It tried v v hard to take root on the wooden planks.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

It depends how much of your garden you want to be mint.

If at least 90%, then fine to plant out.

[HumphreyCobblers]

If you want to keep your mint in pots alive you have to feed it a couple of times in the spring and again in the summer and also do what Starman says and repot a bit of the old plant to avoid congestion.

I have about 17 varieties of mint, all planted in tin buckets and baths. They look and smell fabulous and grow really well in the shade.

I just would not plant it in the ground ever. Too risky.

[didireallysaythat]

Ok. I'm going to repot some of my barely alive mint plants, I've sewed some more seeds and I'll take some water cuttings. But I won't be planting out.

Anyone got tips on how you contain lemon balm ? It's in every bed and is out competing dandelions between the patio slabs.

[HumphreyCobblers]

I dig half of the clump out each spring before it gets going. It is a bit of a thug!

[WellTidy]

what would you feed mint with to help growth?

[Ifailed]

if you can get hold of an old sink, preferably belfast, they are great for growing spready herbs like mint. either bury it in the ground, or just use it as a planter.

[GreenMarkerPen]

what would you feed mint with to help growth?

nothing, it seeminly only needs air.

[ThisIslandGirl]

I must be the only one who can kill mint by planting it in the ground! Although I did see the cat peeing on it last year so that might have done it!

[WellTidy]

But mine doesn't grow! At all. I have it in a pot on the patio, and I've been watering it religiously for a month now. I have nowhere near enough for even a single jug of pimms.

[shovetheholly]

Questions for those struggling with mint:

• is it getting too much sun? This is a herb that likes shade.
  
• is it in loads of fairly rich, moist compost?
  
• is it well-watered (but not standing in wet all the time - it will rot!)
  
• is your soil just a bit alkaline (if not, add a tiny bit of lime)?
  
• is it being weed on by cats?
  
• is it just spreading nefariously below the soil, ready to spring up everywhere when you turn your back? (Sometimes plants just need a bit of time to settle into a new pot too).

[HumphreyCobblers]

If your mint is in a pot it needs feeding! Multi-purpose compost only feeds a plant for so long. All plants in pots need feeding tbh. And proper watering too, not just a quick splash but a proper soak.

I find it really hard to get someone to water my pots properly when I go away. A bit of rain doesn't cut it.

[HumphreyCobblers]

sorry, you can use either a seaweed based feed or a tomato feed. Seaweed probably the better of the two.

You can make your own plant food by steeping comfrey or nettles in a bucket of water for about a month, then diluting into water. It absolutely STINKS though!

[WellTidy]

lovely, thank you. I have tomato feed for the geraniums. I will add some tonight when I water and move it to a shady spot (you're right, it is in the sun).

[shovetheholly]

You'll be knocking back home-grown mint mojitos before you know it, welltidy!

[WellTidy]

Bring it on!!

[HumphreyCobblers]

If you are in south wales, pm me - I have just taken a load of strawberry mint cuttings especially for pimms!