Apple mint

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; afternoon shade helps in hot, dry climates.

Water

Keep the root zone evenly moist but not waterlogged. Containers may need daily watering during hot weather.

Soil

Moist, well-drained soil with some organic matter; tolerates clay if drainage is adequate.

Height

1-3 ft (0.3-0.9 m)

Spread

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) initially; runners can spread much farther if unchecked.

Flowers

Small pale lilac to nearly white flowers in upright spikes from midsummer to early autumn.

Foliage

Opposite, rounded to oval, wrinkled green leaves with toothed edges and soft hairs; aromatic when rubbed.

Growth

Fast

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Low allergen
• Fragrant
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.5 ft (0.45 m)

3. After 2 years

   2 ft (0.6 m)

   full size

About 2 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Mildly toxic: may upset a stomach

Native to

the UK

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Grow in a large pot with drainage holes, preferably standing on paving so runners cannot root into surrounding soil.
• Water when the surface starts to dry; do not allow the root ball to dry out completely.
• Top-dress with compost in spring; avoid heavy feeding, which encourages excessive growth.
• Divide crowded plants every two or three years and replant vigorous outer sections in fresh compost.
• In cold regions, protect container roots by moving the pot to a sheltered spot or insulating it for winter.

Pruning. Pinch out shoot tips through the growing season to encourage bushy growth, and cut tired or flowering stems back to just above healthy lower leaves. Remove dead stems in late autumn or before new growth starts in spring.

Pick healthy young leaves and shoot tips once plants are growing strongly, from spring until autumn frosts. Leaves are ready whenever fully opened, but tender growth gathered before flowering usually has the best texture and flavour; pick regularly and leave enough foliage for regrowth.

Early spring

Remove old stems and divide crowded clumps as new shoots appear.

Spring

Plant rooted divisions in containers and top-dress established plants with compost.

Late spring

Begin regular harvesting and pinch shoot tips to encourage branching.

Summer

Check pots frequently for dryness and remove runners escaping through drainage holes.

Late summer

Cut back coarse stems for fresh growth, leaving some flowers if wanted for pollinators.

Late autumn

Remove dead growth and protect exposed pots where winters are severe.

• Use a large container beside the kitchen door for convenient harvesting.
• Place pots along a path where the soft, scented leaves can be touched.
• Add rounded, softly textured foliage to a cottage herb garden, keeping roots contained.
• Allow a contained clump to flower beside other summer herbs for visiting bees.

Garden styles it suits: Cottage garden, Potager (kitchen garden), Sensory garden, Edible landscape, Herb parterre and Pollinator garden.

Plant it with: Chives, Parsley, Lemon balm, Calendula and Nasturtium.

Wildlife: Flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. Allow some stems to bloom if harvesting is not the main priority.

• Uncontrolled spread: lift escaping runners promptly and grow the plant in a container on a hard surface.
• Mint rust: remove affected shoots with orange-brown pustules; discard badly infected plants and restart with clean stock in fresh compost.
• Powdery mildew: improve airflow, keep roots evenly moist and cut away heavily affected growth.
• Aphids on tender shoots: wash them off with water or pinch out badly infested tips.

Leaves are edible for people in normal culinary amounts. Mint foliage and stems contain essential oils that can cause vomiting or diarrhoea in cats, dogs and horses if enough is eaten; concentrated mint oils pose a greater risk and should not be given to pets.

Where it spreads. Spreads aggressively by underground runners in gardens across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia where conditions suit it. It can escape cultivation and is naturalised in parts of North America and Australia; keep it away from waterways and natural vegetation.

• Spearmint (Mentha spicata)

  Usually has narrower, more pointed leaves with much less hair and a sharper, familiar chewing-gum mint scent.

• Peppermint (Mentha × piperita)

  Usually has smoother, more pointed leaves, often reddish stems, and a stronger cooling menthol scent.

• Pineapple mint (Mentha suaveolens 'Variegata')

  This cultivar of apple mint has irregular creamy-white leaf margins; plain green shoots are reversions and should be removed.

The Latin epithet suaveolens means sweet-smelling, while apple mint refers to the apple-like note in the crushed leaves.

Propagation. Divide rooted clumps in spring or autumn, or root soft shoot cuttings during the growing season. Divisions and cuttings preserve the parent plant's flavour and appearance more reliably than seed.

Accepted botanical name

Mentha suaveolens

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Algeria, Azores, Baleares, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Corse, East Aegean Is., France, Germany, Great Britain and Greece.

Measured

Soil pH 6.5 to 7. Average height 60 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.