Hello All,
I was sent some chocolate mint as a freebie with some other plants and would like to get some advice before planting it. I know how invasive some herbs can be so I've always planted them inside a pot with the bottom cut out. This has worked well with herbs that invade "invade" from the top, and I wanted to make sure this method would contain my mint as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
La
Chocolate Mint
Sometimes mints will grow out the bottom of a pot (even through the drainage holes of a free-standing pot), but that method will at least mostly contain it. As long as you check once in a while to be sure the plant hasn't sent runners out from the bottom or out over the top rim of the pot, I think you'll be fine. If you plant it in a bottomless pot sunk into your garden and then don't look at it for months (or years), then I expect you'd find the buried pot sitting in the middle of a fine big patch of mint, LOL.
I planted Chocolate Mint all along one side of my driveway... the grass wasn't doing well there anyway... it's a great groundcover, and that's a small section of ground so it's fairly well contained. I just cut and pull it up when it starts making its way into the adjacent landscape bed. I also take the weed wacker to it when it gets too tall, and I definitely whack it or even mow if it starts to bloom (don't want seeds spreading everywhere)... you can smell it all the way down the street when I trim it back!
LOL Critter I should have known you'd have the answer for me.
I was very impressed with the aroma when I opened the box....(yummmm!) and I hope it will get along well with my other herbs. When I sink the pot I always leave a couple of inches out of the ground to prevent it from taking hold that way. Viewing the herb garden is part of my morning stroll so I'll know right away if it's coming up via runners. I was about to do a search to check on it's hardiness, but I'm guessing that if it's hardy for you it will be for me as well.
Thanks as always.
La
I think you need not worry about its hardiness. We're zone 6b here, but that strip along the driveway gets the coldest winter winds, and it always comes back like gangbusters in the spring.
Even thought I've acquired other varieties, that's still my favorite peppermint... nice sweet flavor, no harsh note like some mints, and just fabulous in iced tea... which reminds me, I need to go harvest some, as I just poured the last of the iced tea into my glass!
Hope you don't mind me jumping in with a passing question about Chocolate Mint... what eats it? I planted a nice start of it and two days later, it was gone. TO THE GROUND. Whatever got it didn't bother the catnip, the cat mint or the lemon balm, just the chocolate mint.
I'm in central Indiana, zone 5.
Hmmm.... I think the only thing that eats it around here is me... and I don't eat it down to the ground, LOL. I'm thinking maybe slugs? If there are any roots left, it may yet come back. You might try digging up and potting any remnants so you can baby it along until it looks good again.
Boy do I love chocolate mint. It's a thriver here (though it can get leggy and ugly if you don't get the right sun position for it), and is it ever good in a cup of tea or coffee! (And even in a glass of perrier, with a marachino cherry added -- a very low-cal chocolate covered cherry with a bit of fizz!)
I have chocolate mint and love it (tea, meal, salads). Never tried with Perrier, but since I love both separately, I now will :)
I grow it in a suncken pot with no winter protection and it thrives. The nice thing about this method is that you can lift the pot once a year and check for runaways very easily. I separated it from spear mint as the latter did not have a chance against the choch sweety. I never had slugs opt for it as I grow it in full sun in a very dry spot.
It will flop if you don't trim it. Since I use it a lot on teas and cooking, I don't let it go tall enough to flop :) It's better to trim it before it flops though to keep it nice and bushy.
You're right... I've planted it together with 'Kentucky Colonel' spearmint, and the Chocolate Peppermint just took over! The spearmint is actually a nice companion plant & ground cover in the bed where it's planted now... but the chocolate mint does its level best to choke out any/all competition.