Mint reseeding

[kitty]

I'm a newbie gardener and I just bought a full-grown mint plant recently, which is living in a planter box which has space for about 4 mint plants.
What I'm wondering is, given mint's reputation as a monstrous little bugger that takes over gardens (hence it living in a planter box and not my garden), I have to wait for it to go to seed before I get a few more mint plants growing around it, right? How long does that take?

 

[simple life]

Be careful with the mint, I know it smells lovely but it can spread like crazy.
I deliberately do not grow it so I cannot answer your question but I can tell you that I have some in my front yard that I am currently doing battle with.
It came over from a neighbor's yard and its roots grow quickly and quite far from where the plant is, I was pulling it out and the roots went forever, I started to dig it up.
I pulled a plant the other day and the roots grew only a couple of inches down but these were 10 inches across and I don't even know if I got it all.
My neighbor tells me that she had it in a planter and the bottom broke and she did not realize it and it spread all over her yard.
It would be great if it stayed where you want it because its pretty and smells nice but its a pain to keep it under control.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Kitty,
First of all

As to the mint plant you are right to keep it confined in a container. What is it made of? If it grows crazily fast in your area I would put in a metal or plastic one that is weather-resistant. I would also cut off any seed heads as they appear. Mint grows rather rankly after it has flowered so it is not so good to eat.

It looks from your remarks that you want more plants to grow in your planter, if so just gently bend some of the stems down & cover with soil. (having removed the leaves along the stem but leaving a small tuft of leaves at the top end-- this sticks up out of the earth), This is called "layering" & is the way that mint naturally increases itself (as described by 'simple life' so graphically)! It is faster than sowing seeds.

Where I live in the UK I have to take some pots inside if I want fresh mint through the winter so I tend to layer some extra pots in early summer for that purpose.

Hope this helps.

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum. Glad you are here.

Layering will speed up the process, but your mint should spread also from the roots. I would expect your planter to be pretty full of mint the second growing season, even if you do not layer, because of the spreading by the roots. I have it in two different places that are contained by mowing, not keeping it in containers. I tried burying a plastic pot with open bottom about 8" to 10" and the mint escaped, mainly by roots but some from by seed.

Mint can spread by sprouting from limbs touching the ground, by sprouting from the roots (it's quite prolific this way) and from seeds. I believe it requires an insect to pollinate it so if your planter is indoors when it blooms, the seeds may not be fertile. If it is outside where the bees can get to it, the seeds should sprout.

Any mint that grows from layering or from the roots will be true to the parent variety. Any that has been pollinated may or may not be true to the variety. Mint is one that will cross-pollinate easily, thus the mint that comes from the seeds may taste quite a bit different from the parent that bore the seeds.

 

[ducks4you]

Don't be afraid of your mint spreading. It's really easy to pull out of the ground. If your soil is less humus, pour water on it and it'll come out easily. I have 2 big patches of it, one is on the west side of the house (where I was growing weeds), and other starts on the NW side of the garage--free standing building--and continues on the west side (also, where I was growing weeds). You can mow it, trim it, pull it and especially walk on it--smells WONDERFUL!! I have spearmint and peppermint growing together (the leaves look a little different) and I have chocolate mint by the garage. I had a small patch of apple mint, but I planted it in too dark a spot, and it died. Ron has some, so I think I'll try it again.

 

[Reinbeau]

the simple life has it exactly right. Mint can be easy to pull, but did you get all the roots? Most likely not. Always be mindful of where you put your mint, and be vigilant in pulling every sprout that isn't going where you want it to go. Best to contain it somehow, with barriers of some sort, if mint is planted in the ground, the barrier needs to go a good foot to eighteen inches deep! Not all mints are as virulent, but most fit the bill of being pretty invasive.

 

[journey11]

I had some apple mint planted in my rock garden and it TOOK OFF RUNNING by the roots. I think it spreads easier by root than by seed. For my first experience with mint, I was lucky to have put it in an out-of-the way place! Now when you hit it with the lawnmower it smells so nice!

 

[ducks4you]

Reinbeau, I was wondering...since I DID successfully kill off my apple mint, what about choking out the mint you don't want, by using black plastic to starve out the sunlight? I know that my other mint loves my soil and has spread as if I moved away. But, the apple mint is like "Marley--...dead as a doornail."
BTW, I, too love to step on and to mow my mint.

 

[journey11]

Reinbeau, I was wondering...since I DID successfully kill off my apple mint, what about choking out the mint you don't want, by using black plastic to starve out the sunlight? I know that my other mint loves my soil and has spread as if I moved away. But, the apple mint is like "Marley--...dead as a doornail."
BTW, I, too love to step on and to mow my mint.

I used black plastic like that to kill off quackgrass-- surely it would work for mint too! :mow

 

[ducks4you]

:mow
journey11, the smiley made me miss mowing
**ducks4you sheds a tear like Titania did, misting over the moon:**
TITANIA
Come, wait upon him; lead him to my bower.
The moon methinks looks with a watery eye;
And when she weeps, weeps every little flower,
Lamenting some enforced chastity.