Gardeners have been warned of a ‘sneaky’ plant that can ‘invade’ your space if it isn’t checked regularly.
There are all kinds of plants you can grow in your garden like flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables, shrubs and climbers. One popular herb to grow is mint, known for its refreshing, cool flavour and aroma.
It is considered an easy plant to grow and is used in a range of food and beverages, including sauces, salads and teas. However, Louise Dickinson, who is passionate about growing and cooking her own food and provides a kitchen advisory service. mentoring clients one-to-one, has warned of the potential downside of growing this aromatic herb in your garden.
Speaking in a video on her TikTok channel, Gardening with Lou, she shared that she was at a customer’s house and found that they had planted a mint plant in the ground but it was in a pot. The gardening expert said that in theory, this is a great idea because the plant would still have access to water and nutrients being in the ground but as it is constricted by the pot, the roots won’t be able to spread.
She added: “Make sure that the pot is deep enough and that you [have] only buried up to about here leaving a big lip so that the mint plant can’t climb over the top but mint plants are sneaky.
Louise said: “Mint is highly invasive and it spreads via its roots so regularly checking your mint plant to make sure it’s not invading your space is a really good idea.”
In the video, she showed a garden bed with a mint plant on one side and some lemon balm and lemon verbena on the other. But the mint tendrils had come all the way over to where the lemon plants are.
She continued: “Even if you do all these things the mint will still find a way. This really isn’t the end of the world though because mint roots are very shallow.
“You can easily pull them up by hand and just digging around under the soil surface.” The home gardener highlighted that you need to be careful with what you do with the trimmings as they can “root into your compost bins.”
Louise advised that the best thing to do with the mint plant trimmings is leave them to completely dry out before you compost them or reroute them into pots to give to friends.
What’s more, the Royal Horticulture Society (RHS), the UK’s leading gardening charity, has put together a guide on how to grow mint on its website.
It states: “Mint thrives in most soil types, in sun or light shade, and usually forms large leafy clumps up to 1m (3.3ft) tall and wide. Most mints are vigorous, spreading plants, so are best grown in large pots or in bottomless buckets sunk into the ground, to keep their roots contained.”
The charity elaborates: “Mint is very vigorous and will spread far and wide via thick creeping roots (rhizomes) if it’s planted straight into the ground. Instead, keep it constrained by planting either in a large pot or in a bottomless bucket sunk into the soil, with the rim above the surface to prevent shoots rooting over the top.”
It recommends filling containers with multi-purpose or soil-based compost with soil that is ideally fertile and free-draining, enriched garden compost.
However, it mentions that mint is vigorous enough to cope in most types of soil, except waterlogged conditions. RHS adds: “Mint is best planted in spring, although potted mint can be planted right through to autumn, except in hot dry spells. It is happy in full sun or partial shade. Water it well both before and after planting.”
Louise’s TikTok video has garnered more than 100 comments and people have shared their experiences with mint. One user said: “We (my other half) did this. It took over!
“We pulled the whole thing out and any bits surrounding it. 3 years later…It’s still popping up in that spot!!! Even the little fibres will sprout if left.”
Another added: “My grandparents’ mint would jump from one concrete bed to another, or go under the concrete path in front of the greenhouse.”