I’ve heard horror stories of mint taking over gardens, spreading like wildfire. And now I’ve got my very own cautionary tale.
You see, the prior homeowner planted some mint directly in the bare earth in our garden. This is a big no-no because mint has underground shoots called “rhizomes” – instead of growing down into the ground like normal plants, these rhizomes are basically like tentacles that grow out from the mint and encourage the plant to spread. To keep the shoots from going crazy, it’s recommended that you plant mint in pots or in areas that are surrounded by barriers like metal at least 10 inches deep – otherwise the mint will escape and invade all of the ground around it. Sounds hardcore, right??
So back to my little cautionary tale. Remember how we laid new sod about two weeks ago? Part of that project involved removing metal and concrete edging from the flower beds so that we could turn those beds into part of the lawn. I got a little overly ambitious and removed the edging from one flower bed in particular that we were eventually planning on turning into grass – but not right away. This bed, of course, housed the entire world’s supply of mint. And now, just two weeks later, said mint has escaped – into our lawn. Darnit!
Now the million dollar question – what do I do now that the mint has escaped? Here are some words of encouragement that I found here and here on the web:
- “It may already be a lost cause. Your only hope is to sell your house and move to a new one.”
- “Napalm.”
- “Face it, mint is eternal.”
- “Perhaps your children or grandchildren will take over, after you’ve gone.”
- “I will have to keep up my search for the perfect murder weapon against the mint plants.”
- “Mint is the demon spawn of all garden plants, and is truly evil.”
Double darnit.
You want to know what’s even worse? In my quest to rid my lawn of these nefarious mint plants, I just yanked them up – apparently another no-no, because any little pieces of root that are left behind will be called into action to sprout new mint plants. Eeek!
I’m now in kill mode – how can I keep this crazy mint from taking over the entire yard? And how can I kill the mint without killing the surrounding grass? I found some potential solutions here:
- Spraying the mint with Clorox bleach
- Spraying the mint with a mixture of 2 cups of salt, 1 teaspoon of dish soap and 1 gallon of white vinegar
- Covering the mint with thick layers of newspaper, followed by a layer of mulch to smother it out
- Spraying the mint with Round-up weed killer
- Digging each little root up
What do you think? Can I squelch these little mint monsters . . .
or am I destined to spend the rest of my life making mojitos? On second thought, maybe I should just leave the mint after all . . .
Have any of you had mint go crazy in your gardens? How do you keep it under control, and do you have any tips for killing it? Quick, the mint is getting closer . . .
This entry is really too funny! Sorry Liz, but your words painted amazing pictures in my imagination!
It is obvious that you have never dealt with bamboo. Oh my heavens, that plant could grow through concrete! Flame throwers should be employed.
I’ve never had any luck growing mint, so my sympathies must be further honed. Decide to love the plant and it will shrivel before your very eyes.
However, good luck! Love your site!!!
I think you should have a mojito party! :)
I haven’t had mint experience, but I have seen a rosemary bush take over a yard!
Mojitos are yummy…
I had no idea! How bizarre….but at least mint smells nice and IS rather lovely for making mojitos. Perhaps you can start researching other recipes that call for fresh mint?
Do you think weed killer would work? Or would you just end up killing the grass?
…My mom’s basil plant did a similar takeover. Fortunately though, basil is an annual and died shortly after taking over her entire flower bed.
Averill,
Ah, I’m dreaming that my mint will die a quick death like your mom’s basil plant . . . but sadly, I don’t think it’s going to happen. In the meantime, I’m definitely going to make the most of it and follow everyone’s suggestion to make mojitos. :)
I think my course of attack is going to be to try to dig up all of the little buggers and then douse them liberally (and repeatedly) with the homemade weed-killer combo of salt, dish soap and vinegar – I’m finding that there aren’t really any “selective” weed killers out there that will kill the weeds but not your lawn. But if you guys know of anything, let me know!!
~ Liz
I have the opposite problem! I can’t, for the life of me, keep my mint plants alive. Of course, I put them all in containers to avoid your problem…ha! I envy your mojitos.
Cheyenne,
Hey there! Here’s my advice for your ailing mint – curse it, pull it up by the roots and hope that it dies – then it will flourish! Or at least it should, based upon my experience with this lovely plant. :)
~ Liz
Mojitos!!!
I’m with the rest of your posse: mojitos!
Wow, I never knew that about mint. I’ve only planted in pots though, but I’ll remember this. sorry I don’t have any tips, though
I too am a person with a mint problem. I live close to Naperville Illinois, and maybe the temp is just right up here. What started out as a cute little plant and idea, has turned into a nightmare for us. We planted just this one little plant 3 years ago, and every year I keep telling my wife, it looks like it is getting bigger and bigger. Well today it has taken over 50% of the garden area. It grows to 3 feet high along the house edge. I still use it for mint tea, and other recipes, but I am at a lost of how to get rid of it. What was once a neat project is now hell on earth. I think I will sell the house anyway, and let the new owner deal with it. It is one mistake I should have read about prior. It does grow on top of the soil and bottom. The roots are like Rizhomes, what I saw in Florida grasses where the roots lay on top. I think if someone came up with a good idea to get rid of this in a bottle. They will make a fortune. So for now, I pull and pull until the garden looks better. And that is 3 times a year, and blistered hands. So never plant mint alone without barriers. In fact, don’t plant it. Just buy some at the local store when you need it, and freeze for winter. It’s not like you can never have enough mint to serve at dinner anyway.
Ray,
My heart goes out to you in battling those pesky mint plants – mine aren’t nearly as crazy as yours, but I can certainly sympathize with how difficult they are to deal with! Good luck, and I hope you ultimately reign victorious over those evil plants!
~ Liz
I’m not a horticulturalist, but I do study plants for a living, so here’s my take:
Plants like mint send growing material down to their rhizomes for safe keeping. They are planning for when something comes by and nibbles (or cuts or pulls or otherwise kills off) the green stuff. Then they use their saved stash of sugars and nutrients to send up those pesky new sprouts.
The key to irradicating the mint is to exhaust these below-ground emergency stores of sugars and nutrients. How do you do this?
First, pot what you want to save. Second, pull or dig up as much of the plant from the ground as you can: every last little green sprig, and whatever roots come with. Next, check for resprouts at least once a week, and pluck them when they are still tiny. Do this for a growing season, or until you haven’t seen a sprout for a couple months. If any stray sprouts pop up after that, pounce on them immediately.
The reason why Ray’s strategy of clearing them 3 times/year doesn’t work, is that the plants have time to get big and replenish their below-ground emergency food supply. Their below-ground emergency supply never gets depleted. You have to stay on them while their small. I would shoot for plucking them when they’re still an inch high.
But if you pluck them often, when they are still tiny, they will consume the energy in their rhizomes, but not have the opportunity to replenish it. Repeat this again and again, and over time, the energy stored in the rhizomes will be drained down to nothing. Then the plant will stop resprouting, because it has no more below-ground reserves with which to do it. At this point, it’s (finally!) dead.
In other words, it’s true that if you yank them up, “any little pieces of root that are left behind will be called into action to sprout new mint plants.” But this doesn’t mean the yanking is “a no-no.” Quite the opposite: you have to do it A LOT. Get those little pieces of root to sprout, let them use up their energy, and then yank them before they get big enough to refill their tanks.
I’m guessing that a one-time herbicidal application won’t be very effective, because from the plant’s perspective, it’s the same as yanking them: Generally, you’re just killing the top, not the rhizomes. This should also “call into action” the roots alive underground.
If you want to go the herbicide route, it should be done analogously to the plucking-by-hand strategy above: Frequently, and when the plants are tiny. The disadvantage of using herbicides in this way is that it might add up to a lot of herbicide in your yard/garden, which might make your other plants unhappy–even if the remedy is homemade.
Personally, I would just hand-pluck them. It’s more work at the start–at first you’ll probably get a carpet of little sprouts. But, it lessens over time as the roots exhaust their energy reserves. Plus, it relieves some stress, and you can reward yourself with an herbicide-free mojito when you’re done.
I wish there was a quicker fix, but this should work if you’re persistent. Good luck!
Erin,
Thanks for the great info!! Your explanation makes a lot of sense, and it definitely sounds like getting rid of that pesky mint once and for all is doable. Thanks!!
~ Liz