Mint for a newbie

[thesilverbail]

Hi guys,

I and my wife are brand new to gardening. We live in the san francisco bay area and we have an apartment with a small patio that gets a decent amount of sunlight (~8 hours in summer). Last year we planted and grew some mint with some success in a large elongated pot, we used well draining potting mix and no fertilizer. The plant thrived till fall, when we had to travel for a few months and then it sort of died with no watering. We had left the pot out with all the dead branches still on it thinking we would figure it out later, but a few days ago i noticed a few small shoots breaking their way up from the bottom again. I trimmed off the dead branches above the soil and am waiting to see what happens.

My question is, should i let the new shoots continue to do its thing or should i take cuttings and replace in a new (smaller) pot? My worry is the soil might be complete filled with roots making it difficult for the plant to grow. Should I leave the shoots in there, but add some fertilizer?

Thanks, and sorry if the questions are so basic, as I said we are complete newbs to gardening, but hoping to learn a fun and rewarding new hobby.

 

[Chuck]

Hi guys,

I and my wife are brand new to gardening. We live in the san francisco bay area and we have an apartment with a small patio that gets a decent amount of sunlight (~8 hours in summer). Last year we planted and grew some mint with some success in a large elongated pot, we used well draining potting mix and no fertilizer. The plant thrived till fall, when we had to travel for a few months and then it sort of died with no watering. We had left the pot out with all the dead branches still on it thinking we would figure it out later, but a few days ago i noticed a few small shoots breaking their way up from the bottom again. I trimmed off the dead branches above the soil and am waiting to see what happens.

My question is, should i let the new shoots continue to do its thing or should i take cuttings and replace in a new (smaller) pot? My worry is the soil might be complete filled with roots making it difficult for the plant to grow. Should I leave the shoots in there, but add some fertilizer?

Thanks, and sorry if the questions are so basic, as I said we are complete newbs to gardening, but hoping to learn a fun and rewarding new hobby.

If you want to just remove the plant from the pot and see if it is root bound. If it is just get a bigger pot and add more potting soil. There is no need to take cuttings. It will come back bigger and better than ever. Add a little fertilizer and keep it moist. Mint is pretty hard to kill.

 

[IcyBC]

Either way you want to do, mint will survive! I have to pull the mint root out every summer in the summer, but they always come back and took over wherever they can.

 

[Trellum]

I liked Chuck's idea... mint is really hard to kill anyway, so you are very lucky. Actually mint is quite invasive, we couldn't really get rid to it until we covered all that area with something, then it stopped growing.

 

[valedevento]

Mint is a perennial and will come back, don't worry about it. There is no need to take cuttings and plant in a different pot, just keep caring for this one and you will have some delicious mint in no time! Continue to water properly and next time ask someone to take care of your plants while you travel

 

[thesilverbail]

thanks guys ! So I'll just let it keep growing then.

 

[Molly Gene]

I would be careful to keep it in a pot, otherwise it could start growing everywhere! We have some in the lawn. It spells great when we mow, but I'd rather have grass! Potting it is the best way to avoid it spreading to unwanted areas.

 

[Corzhens]

From another thread, those shoots are called "runners" which produces new plants from a runaway branch. We trim our mint so as not to be very crowded. With those shoots, I sometimes replant it in a small plastic pot for transport - some of my colleagues would ask me for plants once in a while. What's good in mint is their propensity to grow. Just give it enough water and you'll be all right.