Mentha
Everything you need to grow mint in Scotland, from a plant in a pot by the kitchen door to fresh leaves for tea every evening from May to October. We have done the research so you don't have to.
Mint is the easiest herb to grow and the one most likely to take over your garden if you let it. The key decision is not what variety to choose. It is whether to put it in a pot. Mint spreads underground and will colonise any bed it is given access to. A container keeps it contained, and a container by the kitchen door means fresh mint tea, mint sauce and mint scattered over new potatoes without walking down the garden. Most mints are fully hardy. The plant dies back over winter and regrows from the roots each spring. One plant, a pot, some water through summer, and you have fresh mint for years.
Why mint suits Scotland
Mint is fully hardy and does not need heat. It grows in sun or partial shade and in most soil types. A Scottish summer, cool and damp, produces lush leafy growth rather than stressed plants that bolt to flower early. The main risk in Scotland is mint rust, a fungal disease that thrives in wet conditions. Good airflow and prompt removal of affected stems keep it controlled. A pot by a sunny wall, sheltered from the worst of the rain, is the ideal Scottish site.
Varieties
None of the recommended culinary mints carries an Award of Garden Merit on RHS's mint page; they are recommended there by name instead. Moroccan mint makes the best tea, Spearmint is the classic for cooking, and Peppermint has the strongest, coolest flavour.
★ Our pick for Scotland
Moroccan mint
Mentha spicata var. crispa
One of the best mints for tea. Strong sweet flavour. The leaves are the classic spearmint variety used across North Africa.
Why this one: If you grow only one mint, grow the one you will use most often. Moroccan mint makes the best tea, it is fully hardy, and it is vigorous enough to give you fresh leaves from late spring right through to autumn. A pot by the kitchen door means fresh mint tea every evening from May to October.
Also worth considering
Spearmint
Mentha spicata
The classic cooking mint. The one for new potatoes, peas, and mint sauce.
Peppermint
Mentha × piperita
Stronger, cooler flavour. The one for herbal tea and cocktails.
Show other recommended varieties (2)
Pineapple mint
Mentha suaveolens Variegata
Fruity minty flavour. Creamy-white leaf margins. Decorative as well as edible.
Lime mint
Mentha
Small glossy lime-flavoured leaves. Good in drinks and desserts.
Site and planting
Mint grows in sun or partial shade in most soil types. A pot at least 20cm wide, filled with peat-free multi-purpose compost, is the standard way to grow it. This keeps the roots contained. If you want mint in a bed, sink the pot into the ground so the rim is just above the soil surface. Leave about 4cm of lip proud of the soil. Runners climb, and a rim flush with the bed is no barrier at all. The plant will look like part of the border but the pot will stop it spreading.
Mint is easier to propagate from root than from stem, which is worth knowing if you want a second pot for nothing. Lift a clump in spring, cut the pale running roots into 5cm lengths, and push them 3cm deep into fresh compost. Shoots appear in about a fortnight. One thing to watch: keep different mints in separate pots. Grown together they cross, and you end up with something that is neither spearmint nor peppermint and no use to either.
Plant young plants in spring or autumn. Firm in, water well, and the plant will establish quickly. Mint is a herbaceous perennial. The leaves die back in winter and fresh growth appears in spring. The plant grows vigorously and will fill its pot within a season.
Care through the season
Water regularly through the growing season. Potted mint dries out fast in summer. If the leaves start to wilt, the plant needs water immediately. Feed occasionally with a general-purpose liquid fertiliser during the growing season if growth is weak, though mint in fresh compost rarely needs feeding.
Harvesting: pick the fresh young shoot tips regularly from late spring through autumn. Pinching out the tips encourages the plant to branch and produce more leaves. The flavour is strongest just before the plant flowers. Cut flowered stems back after blooming to encourage a fresh flush of leaves. Stop harvesting as growth slows in autumn and let the plant die back naturally over winter.
Containment: dig up and divide the plant every two or three years in spring. Keep a young, healthy section and discard the rest into fresh compost. An old congested plant in the same pot for years produces fewer leaves and is more prone to rust.
Propagation: take stem cuttings in spring or summer. Cut a 10cm piece, strip the lower leaves, and put it in water. Roots appear within a week. Pot it up and you have a new plant. This is also the simplest way to overwinter mint if you want fresh leaves through winter: bring a pot indoors onto a bright windowsill before the first frost.
Common problems
- Mint rust is the main mint disease. Orange spots turn grey and fuzzy on the leaves and stems. Cut all affected growth to the ground immediately and bin it. The plant will regrow clean. If rust returns every year, start a new cutting from clean stock in a fresh pot of compost and discard the old plant and its soil.
- Wilting usually means the pot has dried out. Mint in containers needs consistent water. Soak the pot thoroughly and the plant should recover within hours.
- Spreading into beds means it was planted in open ground. Dig out the runners now, before they reach the rest of the border. Contain the remaining plant in a pot.
Common questions
Why should I grow mint in a pot?
Because mint is a thug. Its roots spread underground and it will colonise any bed it is planted in. A pot keeps it contained. Use one at least 20cm wide, sink it into the ground if you want the look of a bed but the restraint of a container, and divide the plant every couple of years to keep it fresh. Mint in open ground will spread until it meets a barrier or the neighbour's fence.
Is mint hardy in Scotland?
Yes. Most mints are fully hardy. Spearmint and peppermint, the two most commonly grown, die back over winter and regrow from the roots each spring. The plant itself is dormant and invisible from roughly November to March, but it is alive under the soil and will reappear once the ground warms up.
How do I harvest mint to keep it producing?
Harvest the fresh young shoot tips regularly, pinching out the top few centimetres. This encourages the plant to bush out rather than grow tall and leggy. Harvest from late spring through autumn. The flavour is strongest just before the plant flowers. After the flowers have opened, cut the flowered stems back to encourage a fresh flush of leaves.
What is the grey fuzz on my mint leaves?
Mint rust. It is a fungal disease that produces orange then grey-brown spots on the leaves and stems. Cut all affected stems to the ground immediately and bin them, not the compost heap. The plant will regrow clean. If it returns every year, start a new cutting from clean stock in a fresh pot of compost and discard the old plant.
Can I grow mint from seed?
You can, but you should not need to. Mint is so easy to propagate from a cutting or by dividing a clump that buying a single plant once gives you unlimited replacements for free. Take a stem cutting in spring or summer, put it in water, and roots will appear within a week. Pot it up and you have a new plant. Sow seed only if you want a variety you cannot find as a plant.
Sources
3 sources, and what each was used for
- RHS: perennial habit and winter dieback, spring/autumn planting, rhizome invasiveness and container advice, hardiness, propagation by division/softwood/rhizome cuttings, harvest window, named mint types
- Garden Organic: root-cutting propagation (5cm root sections, 3cm deep, sprouting in two weeks), the 4cm lip on a sunken bottomless pot, dividing every three years, and the warning that different mints grown together cross in flavour
- Teagasc: corroborates the October or March planting window into cool rich soil, and cutting the tops down in autumn under 5cm of manure or compost