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:-) It's amazing what I've learned by hanging out on the DG Herb Forum! That's where I started hearing about all these hybrids with the intriguing names... I like having a bunch of different ones to fool with!
That is one of the forums on my 'watch' list. I don't feel like I have much to share just yet but I learn alot from reading the posts.
I still want that huge herb garden...someday.
Jill, you have got to stop writing articles! Every time you do, I spend more $$!!! I already have peppermint, spearmint, pineapple mint, a mint that smells citrusy(?), and a kentucky colonel resprouting from the roots (long story) . . . but now I've got the oregano/thyme, marshmalllow, ginger, and iced hazelnut in my shopping cart!
Ok, and for good measure, I added another kentucky colonel!
great article. I grow chocolate, pineapple, lemon mint in pots. They make a perfect snack for my pet bunny. I didn't know about pinching the flowers, better go do that right now.
Is kentucky colonel easy to get? would love to try that one. Have never seen it locally
It is . . . that is where I got the one I have . . . until my dog practically trampled it to death, and it fried (except for roots) by the time I got home from work!
I haven't ever planted herbs before, but after seeing and sampling your mints a few weeks ago, I added it to my "want to do" list. Now I have this great article to refer back to for the specific kinds when I'm ready :-) I was thinking I would start out with some mint in containers, and at some point down the road expand to a herb garden parterre... Terri
Terri, you live close enough that you know you can get starts from me, so don't buy any mints! I'll fix you up with some thyme & oregano, too. I sure wish I had time this summer to send out KYC spearmint and chocolate peppermint for postage... they're the ones I have in garden beds rather than pots, and I always bring big bags of them to our local plant swaps.
Syrunami, that KY Colonel will resprout from the roots if it's showing any sign of life.. it's tough! Just keep it moist, and don't put it into full sun until it recovers.
It's got 3 sad little sprouts going right now. They're about an 1" or so . . . got the roots sitting in water right now, but I may pot it up in something small this weekend . . .
What a useful article! I bought some lime mint for a friend of mine and for myself to make mojitos, which I thought would work great, but it just didn't taste right. I'm hearing from you plus another source that it needs to be spearmint for mojitos, so I'm going after the Kentucky Colonel. I did like growing the mint in a pot, though--pretty to look at, easy to reach, and easy to control...I think I'll need more pots...
My mint seems to do best in *big* pots, at least 12 inches across (not necessarily deep, just wide)... otherwise, it gets rootbound too fast. Even so, it'll need dividing and replanting every couple of years, or you'll start seeing less instead of more in the pot as it chokes itself out.
I've heard of a Mojito Mint... makes me curious...
A very generous DGer sent me 7 kinds of mints this spring in a swap & I was so excited. I immediately potted them up. I don't know what I did wrong, but every one of them died. How is that possible? Everyone says how hardy they are. They were on my patio where I could watch them carefully to be sure they didn't get too dry. Some of them were a bit tattered from the trip, but others looked perfectly fine. They just never recovered from the transplant. And he said he even had them in the greenhouse for a while before he sent them, to get them off to a good start! I have peppermint & spearmint taking over everything in my herb garden but I desperately want chocolate mint!!! It tastes wonderful. This was my second time trying to start chocolate mint. The first one died because it got too cold in the mail before I received it. But I really have no explanation for losing the others. Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong?
For me, they seem to do best after transplanting if I keep them out of direct sun and keep them moist, until I start to see new growth. As closely as you watched them, it seems unlikely that they had spider mites or any other problem... I'm baffled, too.
I did end up sending chocolate peppermint several times to one DG friend before it finally "took" for her, and I'm sure she was taking perfect care of it each time... once established, mint is tough, but maybe it's not always so easy to get it to that point.
I have them sitting on my desk at work right now. While they do smell minty, it's a combined minty - probably from being in two seperate boxes for the last few days. The two from Fragrant Fields both smell like a hazemallow. The other three are slightly spearminty . . . can't really catch the oregano/thyme scent. Once I get them home, I'll separate them a bit, and see if being in the open will help.
I was put off at first because of the high (I thought) shipping from Fragrant Fields. I've changed my mind, though . . . all the plants from both sources were $3.50 each. But, for the slightly higher shipping, the two plants are 10" tall where the other three are about 3-3 1/2". Not complaining, just making an observation.
Wow, those plants have been putting on some growth! The plants I got from FF in the spring a couple years back were much smaller... just a difference in time of year, I'm sure. I'm glad you got such nice, vigorous plants. I'll look forward to a report on the mints once they've recovered a bit. My oregano thyme definitely had a very pungent scent, hard to miss.
