Does Peppermint Need Full Sun
), or the idea of peppermint tea sends you running to the kettle, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t grow this marvelous herb at home.Peppermint is a natural mint hybrid that grows wild throughout Europe, North America, and Australia.The name comes from the Latin word Mintha, the Greek name of a nymph who was transformed into a mint plant (it’s a whole story) and piper, meaning pepper.The “pepper” part of its name is particularly apt since it has a spicy, pungent flavor derived from a unique combination of menthol, menthone, and menthyl acetate, as well as limonene and other terpenoids.Like most mint varieties, the history of peppermint is a little unclear because it can be found growing wild in many parts of the world.In his book “The New Healing Herbs: The Essential Guide to More than 130 of Nature’s Most Potent Herbal Remedies,” available on Amazon, journalist Michael Castleman notes that both peppermint and spearmint were considered to be the same plant until 1696, when English botanist John Ray differentiated the two plants.The earliest record of its medicinal use comes from the ancient Egyptian text Ebers Papyrus.Today, extracts are used to aid digestion and ease symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and when applied to the skin they may help alleviate headaches, itching, and sore muscles.Early mint farmers were forced to gradually move across the country until the only commercial growing land that wasn’t infected with the fungus was largely in the west.Peppermint is a an important commercial crop in the US, and is primarily grown in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wisconsin, and Indiana.About 90 percent of the peppermint grown in the US is in the Pacific Northwest, which has the kind of climate it loves: moist, with cool nights and warm days, and more than 14 hours of sunlight during the summer months.Any seeds claiming to be peppermint will likely be a type of spearmint that may turn out to have an unpleasant flavor and scent.Peppermint is so vigorous that some commercial growers plow up their plants in the fall to chop up the roots and stolons and spread them around.Rooting stem cuttings is the preferred propagation method for commercial growers because it’s reliable and easy.Take a four to six-inch cutting from the top of a healthy stem and remove the leaves from the lower half.Dip the cut end into a food-safe powdered rooting hormone, and then place the stem in a glass of water.Find a bright, airy location, out of direct sunlight, and change the water every two to three days.Harden them off over the course of a week or so by placing the pot outside in the sun for a few hours and then bring it back indoors.Peppermint reproduces vegetatively by sending out runners, aka stolons, in the summer after flowering.To identify a stolon, look for what appears to be an above-ground root or horizontal stem extending from the parent plant.You can always take a larger division – as long as you leave about six inches of root behind, your plant will come back quickly.Peppermint is an incredibly adaptable plant, but ideally it prefers a cool, moist climate with well-draining, loose, organically-rich soil.I’ve even grown it as a groundcover in full shade, but the flavor was noticeably diminished.Variegated cultivars require protection from the heat of the midday sun, or the white and cream areas of the foliage can become scorched.That said, the oil concentration is stronger if you let the soil dry out a little between waterings as harvest time nears.If you live in a hot or dry area, add a layer of organic mulch like grass clippings, straw, or leaves.Be aware that the soil in containers tends to dry out much more quickly than it does in the garden – so be vigilant with your watering schedule.Peppermint can also grow indoors in containers with one caveat: it will rapidly outgrow small pots.A half-gallon container is the minimum size I’d recommend for one plant, and even then, it will become rootbound pretty rapidly, depending on the growing conditions.If it does become rootbound, you can either divide it, put it out in the garden and start with a new plant, or transplant it into a larger container.Keep plants in check through pruning and dividing Cultivars to Select As mentioned, peppermint will not grow from seed.Plants will often be generically labelled as “peppermint,” but in addition, there are a number of cultivars available – though these can often be difficult to find.It has a compact growth habit, topping out at about 16 inches tall, with deep red stems.It has a slightly fruity taste, which makes it ideal for use in drinks and cocktails, or as a garnish on summer salads.‘Variegata’ You can manage this by either planting it in a spot that gets afternoon shade, or growing it in a container so you can move it out of the sun during the hottest part of the day.The problem is, it’s even more susceptible to disease and has a slower growth habit than M
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