My mint is growing out of control!! I have about six or seven different kinds of mint and I love them but they are taking over my garden. Any ideas on how to keep it under control?
The only way to contain Mint is either in pots or a concrete wall about 10 inches into the ground surrounding the mint bed. It does just fine in pots, mine even wintered over through the ice and snow we had. Dig up as much of it as you can get, any little bits will grow to spread again. Put them in pots, close up the drainage hole in the pot and either set them around the garden or 'plant' the pots in the ground if you don't want them seen. I don't know where you live so I don't know what your winters are like but if you have lots of real winter weather you can put the pots in a greenhouse or garage or inside to keep them safe.
I live in Memphis so knowing how the winters are going to be is like flipping a coin... I'll try the pots
Down here I can leave it out all winter only putting it up if the forecast calls for cold, then when the cold doesn't materialize I stick it back outside. You just never know here either
Put it in large pots and set the pots in the ground about 2/3 of the pot deep. (Am I making sense?) I live in the desert and my spearmint starting taking over when I put in a drip system. So, I moved some to the other side of the garden and set it into a large deep pot. Works great! It took me a year to get it all out from the original planting site.
I have about 7 species of mint,..all in pots with a fitted tray at the base so roots will not go through the bottom of the pot and start spreading,..though without the base tray it can be contained. ( photo / image / picture from Philip Nulty's Garden )
Philip, Do you have trouble with your mints crossing? I planted applemint right next to peppermint last year and got some awful cross-bred, ugly tasting stuff. Now I keep the mints well away from each other. Perhaps mine was just an accident, but I don't want to risk it again.
Not up to date Jane,..but i must keep an eye out,..the mint on the bottom left of the picture is Water Mint,..it grows like mad along the river bank,..when the dogs come home they smell of mint, .
