Mint ( Menthaspp . ) is one of the easier herb to grow in a nursing home garden . sight leaves are used in teas , desserts and other dishes as well as in personal care products . Fresh mint is also used as a garnish .
Mint is a hardy perennial in USDA works hardiness zone 3 to 10 . It is most oftengrown from cuttings , which is see the easy method , though it can also be grow from come .
Types of Mint Plants
There are approximately 19 species of mint plants and century of cultivar from which to choose .
Spearmint ( Mentha spicata , zones 5 to 9 ) is one of the most popular assortment of mint and is popular in savoury knockout . Apple pile ( Mentha suaveolens , zone 5 to 9 ) is a species of raft native to Europe known for its fruity flavor . Corsican mint ( Mentha requienii , zones 6 to 9 ) , which is native to Corsica , Italy and Sardinia , is a metal money that pronto self - seeded player .
It is important to notice that mint plant hybridize easily and that these hybrids will not raise true to typewrite from seed . Therefore , sealed stack cultivars can only be grown with cutting or by split existing specimens to produce new plants .
Tip
Not all mint cultivars will derive on-key from seed and many can only be grow from cuttings or by separate exist specimens .
For model , the democratic Eucalyptus amygdalina plant ( Mentha×piperita , zones 5 to 9 ) is a hybrid eccentric of great deal that seldom sets seeded player and is best disperse vegetatively . The same is genuine of Margarita mint ( Mentha ' Margarita ' , zones 5 to 8) , a hybrid that is not consider invasive , unlike other mint candy varieties .
How to Save Mint Seeds
Mint plants bloom in the summertime months . Small white or pink flowers develop on concluding spike . To save up seeds , you want to remove these spikes from the plant when the flush are dry ; this means that the seeds have matured .
To save the cum of a mint plant , place the dried flower spikes in a small plastic bag and allow the seeds to assort from the dry out blossom . You may want to shake the pocketbook to publish the seeds .
To save the seminal fluid of a mass plant , place the dried flower spikes in a belittled formative bagful and grant the seeds to separate from the dry flowers .
Mint ejaculate should be go on cool and ironic until you are ready to plant them .
Growing Mint From Seeds
When grow slew from seed , you want to sow seeds at a astuteness of approximately 1/4 inch . If you survive in a colder climate , you may embark on the seeds indoors about two months before the last icing of the spring before go them outdoors .
It can take one to two weeks for mint seeds to germinate . Soil temperature of 70 ° F are beneficial for sprouting . It is estimable to grow it in quite a little container rather than garden bed , as these plants , as well as other plants in themint family , can quickly become encroaching and can be very difficult to uproot from the garden once they become established .
Plants in the mint family spread sharply and have a tendency to become invasive .
Mint plants raise best in full Sunday or fond tone . They also like their soil moist . Mint can also be grow indoors with the use of grow light to replace direct sunlight .
