Mentha suaveolens
Apple mint
Common names: Round-leaved mint, Pineapple mint (for the variegated selection 'Variegata')
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Spacing
- 40 cm, rows 50 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Harvest
- May–Oct
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Water need
- High
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: ZooFari · Public Domain · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Apple mint, botanically Mentha suaveolens, owes its name to its fresh, fruity scent, which is reminiscent of green apples and is softer than that of peppermint. It is a perennial herb native to the Mediterranean region and Western Europe, growing 30 to 60 cm tall. The round, wrinkled leaves are softly hairy and greyish green. From July to September, white-pink flower spikes appear that attract bees, bumblebees and butterflies. In the kitchen, apple mint pairs well with fruit salad, quark, yogurt, iced tea, lemonade, punch and desserts. The white-variegated selection 'Variegata' is often sold in the trade as pineapple mint. Plan a root barrier from the start: like all mints, apple mint spreads vigorously through underground runners and will overgrow neighbouring plants if not restrained.
Care instructions
Plant apple mint in a sunny to partially shaded spot with fresh, humus-rich soil, between April and September, with 40 cm spacing from neighbouring plants. Because of its runners, it belongs in a large pot or behind a root barrier that reaches at least 30 cm deep and rises about 5 cm above the soil. Alternatively, sink a bucket or pot with the plant into the ground, with its rim protruding a few centimetres, and lift it every year so that no roots grow through the drainage holes. Water regularly, as it wilts quickly in dry conditions. Harvest the shoot tips continuously from May, which encourages branching. In July or after flowering, cut all shoots back to about one hand's width above the soil; it will sprout fresh growth. Runners that appear outside the barrier should be cut off with a spade each year.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
HarvestMay–Oct
FloweringJul–Sep
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, nutrient-rich, moist, loamy
Apple mint grows best on humus-rich, nutrient-rich, evenly moist soil. A fresh, loamy garden soil is ideal; in the wild it grows on banks and in damp hollows. On dry, sandy soil the shoots wilt quickly, but it does not tolerate standing water either. On light soils, mix in mature compost and mulch in summer. In a container, use good-quality herb compost and make sure there is a drainage hole.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Apr–Aug
In the bed, a layer of mature compost in spring is enough, and a second after the summer cut back. In a container, add an organic liquid fertiliser to the watering water about every four weeks from April to August; diluted nettle feed works just as well. Overly rich feeding makes the shoots long and soft. From September, stop feeding.
Overwintering
Apple mint is hardy down to about minus 25 degrees. In autumn the above-ground shoots die back, and in April it sprouts anew from the rootstocks. Cut the dead shoots back close to the ground in late autumn or in spring. In a container the root ball freezes through more than in the bed: stand the pot against a house wall, wrap it in jute or fleece in lasting frost and water on frost-free days so that it does not dry out. Every two to three years, divide the root ball and renew the compost, otherwise the middle goes bare.
Propagation
Methods
- Division
- Cuttings
- Runners
You propagate apple mint most easily by runners and division. In April or September, cut out a piece with roots and shoots and plant it in a new spot or in a pot. Shoot cuttings about 10 cm long, which you cut below a leaf node in early summer, root in a glass of water in one to two weeks. Mints grown from seed often turn out with differing scents, so sowing is hardly worthwhile. Rather buy a plant whose scent you like and propagate it further.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
nightshade family (Solanaceae)
particularly well establishedYou will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.
For example PotatoTomatoSweet pepperCocktail tomatoEggplantCape gooseberry and 14 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
You will notice that the intense scent of basil, thyme, and others confuses the cabbage whitefly and keeps it away from the cabbage family.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: bio-gardening intercropping practice
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Apple mint yourself
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