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Mint in pots
Sarah 46
Posts: 7
in Fruit & veg
Hi all,
I've gone a bit mint crazy and purchased several different mint species (apple mint, spearmint, chocolate mint etc). I planned to have them in a divided herb planter, but now I have read that mint plants should be at extreme opposite of the garden in case of cross contamination of flavours?
Could anyone shed any light on this please? I really liked the idea of having the mints next to each other (but separate containers), but if it will ruin the flavour I will have to think again.
Thanks
Last edited: 08 June 2017 08:27:18
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Posts
I raised an eyebrow when Monty mentioned that last week.
I've got apple mint, spearmint, common mint and eau-de-cologne mint all in pots next to each other. They've been there around 10 years
As far as I can tell the all smell as they should and they all look as they should
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Just what I wanted to hear, thanks!
I can't think of any way plants could 'cross contaminate' except by seeding and creating new plants. Common sense says this is not possible
In the sticks near Peterborough
And yet it is true. I think it only happens if they actually are growing into each other - so separate pots standing close to each other is probably not a problem but I'm not sure there is a scientific measurement of a distance that is OK. Opposite ends of the garden is not necessary, as far as I know. I have peppermint and Moroccan mints about 20 feet apart still with their distinct flavours after 5 years.
I have never been able to work out HOW it happens but it definitely does. Even Jekka McVicar agrees - she says 'planted side by side they seem to lose their individual scent and flavour'. My Mum had a mint she'd grown for years that she used for mint sauce. She was given another type of mint by a friend and planted it about a foot away from the established one. The next year she commented to me that her taste buds must be changing because mint sauce didn't taste like it used to though she was sure she was making it the same way. In discussion we eventually realised that it was this effect, moved the new one and her mint reverted to it's old flavour.
weird
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Interesting discussion . I think that Monty's' statement might need some serious experimenting to test that claim.
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'
The only way I can see it happening is that the plants 'give off' some sort of chemical either via leaves or roots that disrupts the building of the scent oils in other mint plants around it and vice versa....
I'd be very interested to understand more
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
That's good to know. I've grown some new ones from cuttings (chocolate, pineapple and strawberry) to grow alongside my ordinary mint. I'm trusting Pete's advice, and will have my pots together.
Surely cross contamination would be possible wherever they were planted....wings and all that ?. Common sense isn't it nut?
Does anyone know the reasoning behind the close planting theory?
Edit: oops, missed some of the further replies above
Last edited: 08 June 2017 09:34:26
I've just been out for a comparative sniff..
I have to confess that after a very careful sniff, my apple mint does indeed have a hint of eau-de-cologne about it...
Can't say I've ever noticed before as I've just assumed that apple mint is apple mint, but thanks to this thread I now know different.
The only problem is that the pots have been in the same place for about 10yrs now and the roots go down to the core of the Earth, but I'll have to try and separate them
I'd still like to know how it happens though
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
That would be the answer if new plants were growing from seed but how does an established plant change its nature? It makes no sense at all to me.
Last edited: 08 June 2017 10:40:38
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Scent and smell are very subjective.
I've yet to be convinced
In the sticks near Peterborough