GardenPerennial Herb · zones 4–9 · 21 varieties
Mint
Mentha spp. (spearmint / peppermint)
Lamiaceae — the same plant family as english lavender, basil, bee balm, rosemary and 11 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Mint (Mentha spp. (spearmint / peppermint)) is a perennial herb for USDA zones 4–9. It wants full sun and pH 6–8 soil, with about 1–2 in of water weekly. First real harvest comes in 0 yr. Watch for aphids and anthracnose. Below: its full sourced profile from 9 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow. We don't yet have the timing to place one stage (establishment), so it isn't shown rather than guessed.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Hardiness zones
- 4–9
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6–8
- Soil texture
- Loam, Sandy loam, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Very hardy
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it, the temperature that would kill it and a heat limit. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 1–3 ft
- Mature spread
- 1–2 ft
- Growth rate
- Fastest
- Spacing in row
- 18 in
- Between rows
- 24 in
- Planting depth
- 1–2 inest
- Container size
- 2–3 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is better
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Division, Cutting, Runners, Seed
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1–2 in/wk
- Critical water
- Establishment, Vegetativeest
- Feeding
- Moderate
Timing & fruiting
- Years to first harvest
- 0 yr
- Harvest cues
- Rapid leaf growth
Edible parts per source: leaf.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Different parts differ — the edible part is the leaf; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.
Petsdogs, cats, horses
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | Specialty-Scented | Spreading | — | Mountain Valley Growers describes this asgrown for cooking · happy in a pot | |
| Banana | Specialty-Scented | Spreading | — | Green | Mother Earth Living describes this astakes the cold · grown for cooking |
| Basil | Specialty-Scented | Upright | — | Jekka's Herb Farm describes this asgrown for cooking · strongly scented | |
| Candy | Specialty-Scented | Mounding | — | Plant Lust describes this asgrown for cooking · strongly scented | |
| Chocolate | Specialty-Scented | — | Bicolor | Mountain Valley Growers describes this asgrown for cooking · strongly scented | |
| Corsican | Specialty-Scented | Prostrate | — | Mountain Valley Growers describes this asgrown to look at · strongly scented | |
| Curly Spear | Spearmint | — | Mountain Valley Growers describes this asgrown for cooking · happy in a pot | ||
| Eau de Cologne | Specialty-Scented | — | Richters Herbs describes this asstrongly scented | ||
| English | Spearmint | — | Richters Herbs describes this asgrown for cooking | ||
| Ginger | Specialty-Scented | Upright | — | Yellow | Royal Horticultural Society describes this asgrown to look at · grown for cooking |
| Grapefruit | Specialty-Scented | Mounding | — | Purple | Mother Earth Living describes this asgrown for cooking · smaller than most |
| Julep | Spearmint | Creeping | — | MyGardenLife describes this asgrown for cooking | |
| Kentucky Colonel Spear | Spearmint | — | Mountain Valley Growers describes this asgrown for cooking | ||
| Lime | Specialty-Scented | — | Mother Earth Living describes this asgrown for cooking · strongly scented | ||
| Mojito | Specialty-Scented | Upright | — | Portland Nursery describes this asgrown for cooking | |
| Moroccan | Specialty-Scented | — | Purple | Mountain Valley Growers describes this asgrown for cooking | |
| Orange | Specialty-Scented | Spreading | — | Richters Herbs describes this asstrongly scented · grown for cooking | |
| Pepper | Peppermint | Upright | — | Portland Nursery describes this asgrown for cooking · strongly scented | |
| Pineapple | Specialty-Scented | Mounding | — | Bicolor | Mountain Valley Growers describes this asgrown for cooking |
| Spear | Spearmint | Spreading | — | Portland Nursery describes this asgrown for cooking | |
| Water | Specialty-Scented | Spreading | — | Royal Horticultural Society describes this asstrongly scented |
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
- NC State Extension
- University of Illinois Extension
- University of Maryland Extension
- University of Minnesota Extension
- Utah State University Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 16 of the 20 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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