You know how, whenever you bring up that you’re growing your own mint, suddenly all sorts of people pop out of the woodwork and tell you how invasive mint is and it’ll take over the garden? Better plant it in a pot!
Well, yes, true enough, but here, it’s not quite like that.
I have two pots of spearmint, one of peppermint. All were started from sprigs of mint bought at the grocery store. None are doing all that well. None are ready to take over anything, in fact, and the two spearmints have been "growing" for at least six months.
One pot of spearmint and the peppermint are on the upstairs balcony. That gets the most direct sun.
At first, I had the pots up against the railing where they’d get the most sun. If I don’t water every day and otherwise keep the soil moist, they wither. Both have nearly died, in fact.
I ended up putting them against the outside wall of the house in such a way that they’ll only get an hour or so of direct sunlight, and otherwise they’re in the shade. They’re much happier now and finally starting to almost-but-not-quite thrive.
Oh, yeah. My rosemary? It died. 🙁 Next time I find some – if I find some again – I’ll also put that up against the house for maximum shade.
The real problem with growing mint here, I think, is that it’s so hot all the time that the plants dry up quickly. They must be watered either every day or every other day. And too much direct sun here will kill them.
So yes, Virginia, it is quite possible to kill a mint plant. 🙂
