herb · Lamiaceae
Updated Apr 2026

Mint

Mentha spp.

A perennial so aggressive that most gardens need it in a pot or a buried bucket.

Mint

Mint is not a plant you add to a garden — it's a plant you make room for, deliberately and with some planning. Most Mentha species spread by underground runners called rhizomes, and those runners move fast. A single plant set into open in May can reach three feet in every direction by September. Gardeners who plant mint casually tend to spend the next several years discovering it in places they didn't intend: between , under the fence, coming up through the lawn. The honest answer is to contain it from the start.

The most practical containment strategy is a buried container. Sink a large pot — at least 12 inches wide and 12 inches deep — into the bed so only an inch of rim shows above the soil. Plant your mint inside. The rhizomes will run until they hit the pot wall, then turn, and stay contained. Check every spring: if runners have escaped over the rim, cut them back. A buried pot can last for years and the mint will be more compact and harvestable than a sprawling patch.

Mint tolerates more shade than most culinary herbs. It produces well in partial sun — three to four hours a day — which makes it useful in the spots where basil and oregano refuse to grow. It also tolerates more moisture. Unlike Mediterranean herbs, mint is comfortable in reliably moist soil, which means it can go in the wetter corner of the yard that other herbs avoid. That said, full sun produces more strongly scented leaves.

Harvest by cutting stem tips, leaving at least two sets of leaves on each stem. Mint responds to cutting by branching, which makes the plant bushier and more productive. If you let it flower without cutting, the leaves tend to get smaller and the flavor shifts. Cut the whole plant back by half in midsummer if it gets ragged — it will flush back in a few weeks. In fall, the plant dies back to the ground in most climates and resprouts reliably from the rhizomes in spring.

In zones 3 through 11, mint overwinters underground and requires no protection. The dormant rhizomes are cold-hardy to temperatures most North American gardens never reach. The problem is not winter survival — it's spring emergence. The runners will come up before the , and those early shoots can be bitten back by a late cold snap. They recover. The more realistic concern is distinguishing where your contained plant ends and where it's escaped.

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Varieties worth knowing

Spearmint (M. spicata)
The classic culinary mint. Bright, clean flavor with lower menthol than peppermint. Good for cooking, mojitos, and teas.
Peppermint (M. × piperita)
Higher menthol content than spearmint. The familiar candy-mint flavor. Best for teas and desserts; overpowering in savory cooking.
Chocolate Mint
A peppermint cultivar with a distinct cocoa-mint scent. Mostly a novelty, but genuinely pleasant in desserts and hot chocolate.
Apple Mint
Larger, rounder, fuzzy leaves. Softer flavor than spearmint. Good in fruit salads and summer drinks.
Mojito Mint
A spearmint selection bred for cocktail use. Smooth, clean flavor. Similar to common spearmint but with larger leaves and a more rounded scent profile.
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What can go wrong

Spreading beyond bounds
Rhizomes escape containers or beds and colonize surrounding soil. The only fix is to install a physical barrier or sink a bottomless container. Weed-barrier cloth alone will not stop mint rhizomes.
Rust fungus
Orange or brown pustules on the undersides of leaves, often following a cool, wet period. Rust spreads quickly and can defoliate plants. Remove affected leaves, improve airflow, and avoid overhead watering. Some cultivars are more susceptible than others.
Verticillium wilt
Sudden wilting of individual stems that doesn't recover after watering. Caused by a soil-borne fungus. Most common in poorly drained or frequently replanted beds. Remove affected plants and rotate to fresh soil.
Flavor decline after several years
A mint patch that has been in one spot for five or more years tends to lose flavor intensity — the plants become overcrowded and the roots exhaust themselves. Dig up the patch, divide the rhizomes, and replant a few healthy sections in fresh soil.
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Companions

Plant with
brassicastomato
Keep apart
parsley
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How to propagate

Mint is one of the easiest herbs to propagate — almost aggressively so. Stem cuttings root in water within days, and established plants can be divided or will spread on their own via runners. Containment is often a bigger concern than propagation.

Stem cuttings
easy95%+ success rate
Spring through summer, anytime the plant is actively growing
Cut a 4-6 inch stem just below a leaf node, strip the lower leaves, and place in a jar of water. Roots appear within 5-10 days, often sooner. Transplant into soil once roots are an inch long. Mint cuttings root so reliably that this is the go-to method for sharing plants. You can also root cuttings directly in moist soil.
Division
easy95%+ success rate
Early spring or fall
Dig up a section of an established mint patch and divide the root mass into pieces, each with roots and several shoots. Replant at the same depth in a container or a controlled area of the garden. Mint divisions establish immediately and grow aggressively.
Runners
easy95%+ success rate
Spring through fall, whenever runners are visible
Mint spreads via above-ground stolons and underground runners. Simply dig up a runner that has rooted at a node, cut it from the parent plant, and transplant it. Each rooted node can become a new plant. This happens naturally and is often how mint takes over a garden bed.

Harvest & keep

Expected yield
Per plant
many cuts of 1–2 cups per plant — a single plant can yield indefinitely
Peak window
20 weeks

Perennial — spreads aggressively by rhizome. Grow in a container or barrier bed.

Keep the harvest
Refrigerator
5–7 days (stems in water, bag over top)
Freeze
chop and freeze in ice cubes — best method for flavor
Can
not applicable
Dry
dry on a screen or dehydrator at 95°F — retains flavor reasonably well for tea

Flavor varies dramatically by variety — peppermint for tea and candy, spearmint for savory. Don't let mints flower if you want the best leaves.

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How it grows where you live

Pacific Northwest
Mint thrives in the Pacific Northwest's moist climate. It may need more sun than the region typically offers — a bright south-facing exposure helps. The main risk is rust fungus during wet springs; improve airflow and avoid overhead watering.
Mountain West
Hardy and productive. The dry air reduces fungal pressure compared to humid regions. Mint needs more water here than in its native range — keep soil consistently moist. Afternoon shade helps in high-elevation areas with intense UV.
Southwest
In hot desert climates, mint appreciates afternoon shade and consistent moisture. It can grow year-round in mild areas of Southern California and coastal zones. In low desert, plant in a shaded spot with regular irrigation.
Midwest
Hardy throughout the region. Mint handles cold winters without help and is usually among the first herbs to emerge in spring. The main management task is keeping it contained in open beds.
Northeast
Hardy to zone 3. Mint is one of the easiest perennial herbs for the Northeast. It dies back in winter and resprouts reliably. No winter protection needed. Divide overcrowded patches every three to four years.
Southeast
Mint can struggle in the Deep South summer heat. Give it afternoon shade in zones 8 and 9. In Florida and coastal zones, it may behave as a cool-season perennial — most vigorous in spring and fall. Keep soil consistently moist.
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Sources

Native range: Europe and Asia
A general reference — results depend on your soil, weather, and season.