I love having mint around for various beverages - iced tea, mojitos, mint juleps, various gin concoctions - but I live in an apartment right now without a window box or access to a garden. I’ve tried growing two mint plants on my windowsill next to some houseplants. One got a fungus and died, and the second just seemed to wilt away in to nothingness (despite proper watering).
I’d love to have a plant growing so I could have a slow, steady stream of mint. I’ve been told, however, that mint plants need air circulation for optimal growth and to prevent disease. I do try to open the window as much as possible, weather permitting, but of course that’s not a good idea when it gets colder later in the year.
Is there anything I can do to make this work, or should I give it up?
I wasn’t sure if this should be in GQ or CS - it’s pretty GQish but at the same time the mint is used for food and beverages, so I’ll let the mods decide.
Hm. Usually the question on mint is how to kill it, not how to make it grow. It’s an aggressive, invasive weed. I had a mint plant in a pot I neglected for years, did just fine. Perhaps you are over watering, or the pot isn’t big enough.
Most herbs grow best in rather poor soils. How rich is the potting soil you’re using? I’d amend it with sand, making it more like a cactus soil, and be careful with the watering. And give the plants as much light as you possibly can.
I can confirm for outdoor plantings! Fortunately I took some advice and planted the mint in terracotta pots and put that in the ground to help contain the mint from spreading all over. I never watered the stuff, nor mulched it over winter and it’s grown back bigger than ever already this Spring. (The catnip too.)
For indoors I’m pretty sure they want tons of light. That can be tough indoors, even in front of a window. If it got moldy/fungi like that sounds like too much water.
I bet it’s a combination of too much water and not enough light that did your other mint plants in.
Otherwise, like others have said, it’s invasive and surprisingly hardy. I have some potted mint that survived getting dried out to the point that I thought it was dead(reset breakers in the house, and accidentally took out the sprinkler system for a few days), and frozen (left outside in that Dallas weather leading up to the Super Bowl this year.
Despite all that, a few sprigs shot up this year in March, and now in May, I have a full overgrown pot of mint. (cuban mojito mint, BTW!)
A couple of years back, I had a small pot that contained both Mint and Sage. Thrived on the window sill as long as I remembered to water it the minute the mint started to sag - or about twice a week in summer, once a week in winter.
I kept that mint going for over four years by pinching off the flowers every time it tried to bloom and seed.
It survived the cat too.
Then one time I was pretty busy and missed the wilt/water window and it died.
Yep, mints want crappy soil and juuuuust the right amount of water. The water thing isn’t such a big deal outdoors, because the roots can grow down to find more water and the drainage is usually better to allow excess water to flow away. Indoors, the water thing can be more tricky.
It may help if you put a thick layer of rocks under the soil to prevent water logging the roots. Use a pot with holes in the bottom, too. I’ve found the best watering method is a couple of ice cubes at the base of the plant every other day or so. YMMV, depending on how dry the air in your home is.