Spearmint

Spearmint is fully hardy in the bed and needs no protection: the shoots die back after frost, and the rhizomes sprout again in spring. Cut the dead stems back close to the ground only in late winter. In a container, the roots freeze through more easily, so place the pot in a sheltered spot against a house wall, wrap it up and water only a little on frost-free days.

The most reliable ways to propagate spearmint are cuttings or division. Sowing is hardly worthwhile, because the species spreads strongly via rhizomes and varieties do not come true from seed.

Cuttings (early summer, May to July): Cut off strong shoot tips 10–15 cm long directly below a leaf node and remove the lower leaves. Put the cuttings in a glass of water on the windowsill and change the water regularly so nothing rots. After 10 to 14 days, clearly visible roots form. As soon as the roots are 2–3 cm long, plant the cutting in moist herb compost. Alternatively, insert it directly in moist seed compost and keep it bright and warm under a light cover.

Division (early spring, March to April): Lift the rootstock with a digging fork and split it into several pieces with a sharp spade. Each piece needs at least a few roots and a shoot. Replant the pieces immediately and water well. The plant thanks you for the rejuvenation with stronger new growth.

Runners/rhizomes (late summer to autumn): Mint spreads by itself via underground creeping shoots. You can simply separate rooted runners from the main clump. Find a piece with 1–2 nodes, cut it off and plant it directly in the place you want or in a pot. In the bed, a root barrier (e.g. a buried bucket) is advisable anyway, so the mint does not overrun everything.