If your container has no drainage holes, add stones to the bottom of the container to act as drainage.Water your plant well and continue to water regularly.Press soil gently around the base of the plant.Gently loosen the root ball of your plant and position the plant in the centre of the hole.Dig a hole, approximately twice the size of the root ball of your plant.Add a layer of Tui Herb Mix to the planting area.This will help prevent transplant shock and give your plant a healthy boost. Soak seedlings in a bucket of Tui Organic Seaweed Plant Tonic and allow to drain.
The best times to plant are early in the morning or late in the day, so the plants aren’t exposed to the hot sun straight away.
Keep the soil moist until seeds germinate. Sow seed outdoors in late spring or start indoors about 8-10 weeks before the last frost. These root easily in water, and within a matter of weeks they’re ready to be transplanted directly into the garden or pots. Mint can be grown from seed in spring, but the quickest way to grow is from cuttings. If you’re a first time gardener you may find it easier to grow from seedlings, rather than seeds, although seeds are a more economical option. If planting in pots and containers, fill with Tui Herb Mix.
#Growing chocolate mint free
Then you can add a layer of Tui Herb Mix, a free draining planting mix, rich in nitrogen to promote green, leafy growth and continuous harvesting. If you are starting with an existing garden bed dig in organic matter like Tui Sheep Pellets and Tui Compost to your soil. The better the soil, the better your plants will grow. Like building a house a good foundation is the key to success in your garden. Popular varieties include Apple mint, Chocolate mint, Common mint, Corsican mint, Pennyroyal mint. It’s happy to grow in pots and containers as well as the garden and as long as it’s in moist soil it will thrive.Ĭhoose a mint variety that suits your tastes and needs. Mint is one of the few herbs that grows well in both sunny and shady areas. It is so easy to grow that you don’t even need a garden, it’s adaptable enough to grow in pots, hanging baskets and window boxes. No more than 3 X per season and in Modest amounts.Mint is the quintessential herb – every home should have at least one plant.
Fertilize in early Spring and then every fifth week thereafter with a balanced fertilizer. If your soil is abysmal Modest amounts of fertilizer can’t hurt.
#Growing chocolate mint full
Plants grown in full sun tend adopt an upright growth pattern, if grown in partial shade, which they tolerate, they tend to sprawl along the surface and create a ground cover.įertilizer is not necessary so long as the soil is reasonably fertile, not sand and certainly not clay. Another is to plant them above ground in containers.Ī layer of mulch in the Autumn will help protect them in their winter dormancy. Small flowers bloom from June to September, you should trim these before the buds open to keep the plant compact and manageable.Īnother method of controlling mint plant is using bottomless containers 12 – 15 inches in depth and sunk in the ground with one or two inches protruding above the soil surface. Keep the plants in check by harvesting the tips on a regular basis and removing renegade runners. Once established it will vigorously spread via its underground stems so you’ll need to maintain its spread in order to prevent it from overtaking neighboring plants. All mints have the tendency to become invasive, chocolate mint is no exception. It will survive some dry spells, but not too often.Ĭhocolate mint will spread prolifically if left unchecked. It is also not drought tolerant so should be kept well watered. It will grow in full sun, however if you live in a hot region partial shade is best. Starter plants can also be purchased.Ĭhocolate mint fades and fizzles in extreme hot weather, it does best in cool temperatures. Starting from cuttings or divisions is the most common mode of starting mint, if you have access to any. Germination rates are low and they are sometimes slow to grow. Starting mint plants from seed can be bothersome. Whitish Lavender Flowers are tiny and appear on the stem tip in early to mid summer. It is very fragrant and like most mints will attract pollinating insects. The plants attain a height in the vicinity of 1.5 to 2 feet. The combination of compounds and essential oils of this plant creates a delicious flavor and aroma reminiscent of chocolate mint cookies, thin mints and similar confections.Ĭhocolate Mint leaves look very similar to standard mint varieties such as peppermint and spearmint, the stems however lean towards a brownish-purplish shading which sometimes is mirrored on the leaf edges. As its name indicates it has a chocolate flavor coupled with the standard menthol common to all mint plants. Mentha x piperita aka chocolate mint is a fragrant perennial member of the mint family.
0 kommentar(er)
