One Rooted Lime Mint Plant

Lime mint is a highly ornamental garden plant, with smooth, bright green rounded leaves with a hint of purple, and reddish purple stems. Very upright, with yummy edible purple flower spikes reaching 16 inches tall. Citrus-lime scent and flavor. Good tea mint or served with fruit punch, margarita’s or other drinks. Easy to grow as a perennial in USDA zones 4-9.

Mints are herbaceous, quick growing plants, spreading by roots to form a dense clump of ground cover. One happy plant could grow eventually to a 10 foot+ wide patch in full sun or partial shade. For this reason, many gardeners choose to plant mint permanently in pots so that they cannot become invasive in the garden. Mint leaves and stalks above ground are damaged by temperatures below 32°, but the roots are generally hardy in USDA zones 5-11. Some types of mint are hardier. To keep them robust, and healthy, they should be cut to the ground after blooming, or in late summer/early fall.  Although mints can be grown in full sun, afternoon shade tends to keep the flavor of the leaves much sweeter, with less tendency to bitterness. Most Mints are deer resistant.

When choosing a spot for your new plant(s), try to find a spot with rich, moist conditions. Even though they are one of the easiest plants to grow, they are susceptible to pests especially while young. In California, we grow mint under deciduous trees, where moisture is retained more easily.  Mints also are good to plant in a food forest under the canopy of fruit and nut trees, as part of a Permaculture guild. They are not aquatic plants, but they do appreciate water if they can get it. They can also be better controlled in the garden by receiving little water once established. Also, harvesting tips regularly, and pulling up running roots will be helpful to controlling your plants in the ground. Leaf flavors are best before flowering occurs in the summer, so plan accordingly for large harvests, as in harvests for tea.

Mints are famous as culinary herbs with many uses from refreshing drinks to baking to salads. The different types of mint can impart unique flavors to your culinary creations. It is fun to experiment with their different flavors in your recipes. The mint flowers attract butterflies in summer and are a great addition to a permaculture or food forest homestead garden. On the back of this sheet is more information about individual varieties we grow.

Your plants are growing in biodegradable peat pots. By the time you receive them the pots may have already begun to break down a bit. However, we don’t recommend planting the whole pot directly in the ground as this may stunt your plant. If the roots of your plant aren’t growing out the bottom yet, you may be able to gently remove it from its pot by poking through the small hole on the bottom. Otherwise, we recommend gently ripping or cutting away part of the pot to expose some roots so they can spread into the new soil they will be planted in. Before exposing your plants to direct full sun we recommend giving them a day or two in partial shade.

If for some reason your order arrived damaged, please contact us within 24 hours of receipt of your package. Please take photos and e-mail us at Projecttreecollard@gmail.com. We cannot accept responsibility for plants that freeze or ‘cook’ in your mailbox or front porch.