A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Anyone have a problem with mint?

What does that mean, "deadhead the blooms"?

Amber, it means to pick or pinch off the spent (dying) blossoms. Two reasons to do this , one is to promote more flowers on certain plants, usually annuals. Second reason is to prevent them from going to seed so you don't end up with way too many babies. Oh yeah, third reason to deadhead is it will look prettier!

Ahould I do this with my strawberries?

Strawberries???? I thought we were talking mint??

I have heard that some do deadhead their strawberries but I never have. I guess the idea behind it is to pinch off all but one strawberry per plant to get a bigger berry??? Doesn't make sense to me.

my mint became invasive too...I am still finding roots and sprouts in the area it was planted - definitely suggest using a container!

I planted some by my pond , and it is Spreadding like crazy... For now I like it but I am sure I will be chopping it off soon

mint is invasive!! and once it gets well-established, it's hard to get rid of! it sends out suckers underground so, even if you get the main plant, those suckers are still there and you'll have more popping up a foot (or more) away.

unless you've got an area that you don't care if it's overtaken or if it's blocked off (surrounded by concrete) you should plant mint by putting it in a pot and then putting the pot in the ground.

well. since you didn't know that, you'll need to keep an eye on it and when you see it starting to grow in a spot you don't want it to, you'll need to pull it up. you could try putting some kind of plastic barrier into the ground to try to keep it confined.

there's a black plastic edger thing that might be helpful. comes in 20 foot sections and can be cut to fit and is flexible so you can make a circle if you need to. easy to install - just place it and press or hammer into the soil.

I have trouble getting catnip to sprout from seeds. I've been using nice potting soil, so that may be the problem. Should I try to straite the little seeds, with sandpaper or something? I have one small plant, but it doesn't provide enough catnip, especially if some roaming cat finds it. Thanks!

We have catnip out doors,
and it re~seeds prolifically....

How many seeds do you have??
(can you get more seeds?)

Try an experiment..
Do some indoors...
And throw some outside,
in a couple of different spots...

It likes plain dirt/soil..
Nothing fancy..
Ours grew in a gravel driveway!!!

Be careful with planting mint outdoors! I believe most types reseed easily or spread from rhisomes, so they can take over your yard in a season (though it makes mowing a more pleasant smelling affair!) Make sure to either dig deep and surround with stone or some kind of barrier, or keep it in a container if you don't want it everywhere!

Good tips on the mint's invasive properties.
I love, love, love mint, but I keep it in clay pots.
The pots circle my wildlife water feature, which is just a very big blue ceramic plant saucer.
But it looks so pretty with the mint trailing in the water. My little patio water feature gives me alot of joy.

Deborah,

Would love to see a picture of your water feature! Sounds really cute and like something I could do on a rented property without being too invasive.

Snap, I don't have a digital camera and a scanner and all that. Wish I did.
But I can describe the water thing in more detail for you.
I rent too, a condo in California, and that's why I'm a container gardener. I have a really big patio and that's all.
If you go to the garden center, with the pots are various sizes of ceramic saucers. I chose blue to make it look like a pond. Green would look good too.
I just circle the saucer with four 6 inch pots planted with peppermint, spearmint, maidenhair fern and an ivy.
Four pots make a half circle, which leaves the front open for the squirrels and rabbits.
It is really pretty, and if you get a 13 inch saucer, sometimes you can see the sky reflected in the water.
It really gives me a feeling of happiness, and what a deal, all this for a few dollars !
I hope you'll make one too !

Sounds great! Home Depot here I come!

Let me know what plants you get and how it turns out !

I meant to add that you can also put small pretty stones in the water.
I have a flat chunk of amethyst (my birthstone) in the water off to one side, for butterflies to land on. It's off to one side to leave room for the birds to bathe.
So far I have never had a butterfly, but I hope to.
The whole thing is really great.