Picked up some mints

[JenEric Farms]

There in Maine you will likely have to get your container in the ground and covered with a mulch to protect it from winter cold. Really, only little parts of this plant is alive and well each spring here. It isn't protected by mulch but grows in a very sheltered location. If we have a -20F winter, it wouldn't surprise me if the chocolate mint completely dies! Now for all of its problems with cold, it is a very robust summer grower!

The apple mint handles the cold just fine. Pretends to be just a "cute" plant . . . while it sneakily invades the lawn .

I wouldn't put them together. The chocolate would bully the apple mint. Spearmint and lemon balm should be able to hold their own thru the summer but I bet they'd strangle the chocolate mint before it struggles back to life in the spring.

Steve

Thanks for the info. I have a green house and figured I would put the containers in there for the winter!

 

[digitS']

That sounds like a good idea, JenEric.

I do that with the lemon verbena and rosemary. The rosemary has a covering on the floor of the greenhouse over the winter. The furnace isn't turned on until March . . . as late as I can wait .

This year, I've got some more French tarragon. No longer will I imagine that I can leave that in the ground thru the winter :/.

Steve

 

[patandchickens]

I dunno, we get -20 F and below here, and my chocolate mint "infestation" is in an area that does not get much depth of snow at all, yet the stuff comes back just fine in the spring (more slowly than my normal mint, it's only *just* starting to poke up now, but a month from now it will have blanketed that garden bed again ). So it *might* actually do ok in a pot in Maine.

You could always put the pot in an unheated (below freezing but warmer than outdoors) garage for the winter once it's dormant. The main thing IMO would be to make sure you water it quite regularly all summer, mint does not have a gigantic sense of humor about being allowed to get truly crispy-dry.

If you keep it growing all winter in a *heated* greenhouse, I'd expect to have to divide and repot it at some point.

I agree completely with Steve that you'd be much better off with a separate container for each mint, otherwise murphy's law suggests that you will end up with the one you like *least* overrunning the ones you prefer

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[JenEric Farms]

So chocolate mint is a sneaky invader with no humor. PERFECT!

 

[lesa]

My chocolate mint came through its first winter fine. I have it in a pot. I haven't seen if any of it has spread from the container...
Steve, I have the most wonderful French Tarragon which has survived many winters and continues to spread, each spring. I have transplanted a few to share. So, yours didn't make it through the winter??

 

[thistlebloom]

There in Maine you will likely have to get your container in the ground and covered with a mulch to protect it from winter cold. Really, only little parts of this plant is alive and well each spring here. It isn't protected by mulch but grows in a very sheltered location. If we have a -20F winter, it wouldn't surprise me if the chocolate mint completely dies! Now for all of its problems with cold, it is a very robust summer grower!

The apple mint handles the cold just fine. Pretends to be just a "cute" plant . . . while it sneakily invades the lawn .

I wouldn't put them together. The chocolate would bully the apple mint. Spearmint and lemon balm should be able to hold their own thru the summer but I bet they'd strangle the chocolate mint before it struggles back to life in the spring.

Steve

Hmmm.... maybe thats why I seem to have a predominance of peppermint? The applemint holds it's own, but some of the other "special" mints have disappeared. I planted them all in the same
bed to mingle and play... I'll have to watch out for those playground bullies!

 

[digitS']

My chocolate mint came through its first winter fine. I have it in a pot. I haven't seen if any of it has spread from the container...
Steve, I have the most wonderful French Tarragon which has survived many winters and continues to spread, each spring. I have transplanted a few to share. So, yours didn't make it through the winter??

The chocolate mint has been out there thru 3 winters, or more. Each spring it has like 1 sprout. After awhile it takes off!! This mint is isolated from most everything but in the ground. It covers its area thru the summer. The plant looks like it should be able to handle another winter but it darn near dies each time.

The French tarragon was planted in the ground, perhaps not in the best location. There was shade thru late afternoon. It looked fine going into winter but was gone by spring.

The new plant is still in the greenhouse where it's growing really well! I'll have it out soon but I'm going to keep it in a pot so it can go back in there for the winter.

Steve

 

[RustyDHart]

The Pineapple Mint has the same texture as the Apple Mint....but has green and white variegated leaves. Not only does it have a wonderful taste and smell....it also has a very attractive color and pattern. The smell reminds me of the Pinepple Sage also.... Happy Planting!!!

 

[wifezilla]

Chocolate mint doesn't seem to mind winter one bit. My pineapple mint, however, looks like it isn't coming back. I think it had enough sun, but the area I planted it has a lot of tree roots. I am sure that didn't help

As for tarragon, I planted Texas tarragon and that didn't come back either. Is french tarragon more hardy?

 

[Reinbeau]

I've got French Tarragon out in the herb garden that's now overwintered two times, so it seems pretty hardy for me.