How to Plant Mint in Pots and Containers

Instructions

Step 1. Assemble the Potting Mixture

When planting mint, it's important to give the perennial plant a healthy base to grow into. Take a bucket and add equal parts of the following:

• 25% normal garden soil
• 25% fine sand
• 25% decomposed cow dung or vermicompost
• 25% coco peat

Important Tip: If you don't have access to the above soil ingredients, purchase a premium bag of potting mix, and look for ingredients such as compost, perlite, peat, coir, rice hulls, and other processed forest products.

Step 2. Mix the Potting Soil

After adding the potting soil mixture to the bucket, you need to mix the elements, and your hands are the perfect mixing tools in this regard. Ensure that all four soil ingredients are properly intermixed with each other.

Important Tip: Don't heavily fertilize the soil, as it can detract from the mint's overall flavor. A time-released fertilizer, added to the container during the growing season, is more than enough to ensure the overall health of the mint.

Step 3. Use a Pot or Container With Good Drainage

When choosing a pot and container to plant mint in, it's recommended that you choose one 10 to 12 inches in diameter, as the mint plant is an aggressive grower above and below the soil surface.

Putting the mint plant in some container is an excellent idea, as these plants are spread by underground rhizomes and can quickly take over a garden when planted in garden beds.

The pot or container you choose must offer good drainage. Cover the drainage hole at the bottom of the container pot with a small stone for better drainage and to ensure that the roots of the mint plants remain inside the pot.

Important Tip: If your container pot has multiple holes at the bottom, place it on a saucer to help keep the roots of the mint plant from growing through the drainage holes.

Step 4. Fill the Planting Pot With The Potting Mixture

After readying your potting soil and planting pot, it's time to add the potting soil to the container. Take a gardening trowel to transfer the potting soil from the bucket to the planting pot.

Ensure you fill the planting pot up to the brim.

Step 5. Level the Potting Mixture With Your Hand

After filling the pot with the potting mixture, take your hand and level out the potting soil across its surface. A level surface is required when planting new plants or seedlings.

Step 6. Cut the Stem Tips

When you inspect your existing mint plant, you'll see that it grows along the soil surface, indicating that the stems have settled roots. In this step, you will cut sections of the plant from the stems.

Measure 4 to 6 inches from the top of a stem, and use the garden scissors to cut a dozen separate pieces. Always aim to cut below a node (the point on a stem where the leaves grow out from.)

Important Tip: There are alternative ways to transfer an existing mint plant to a new pot or container. If you don't want to use cuttings, you can dig up the existing mint plant and divide the plant into a section that can be planted directly into the pot.

Step 7. Remove the Bottom Leaves From the Stem Cuttings

Take the individual cuttings and cut off the bottom leaves, leaving a clear stem of about 1.5 inches, to plant into the potting soil.

Important Tip: The alternative to planting the cuttings into the potting soil, and nurturing it to grow, is to place the cuttings in a water source. After a few weeks, you should notice new roots growing from the cuttings, and you can then transfer them to the new container.

Step 8. Create Planting Holes With Your Fingers

In this step, you must create planting holes with your fingers. Take a finger and push into the potting soil, creating a new home for the mint cuttings. Space the holes at least 2 inches apart to give each cutting space to grow.

Step 9. Plant the Stem Cuttings

Plant the cuttings individually into the holes which you created. Planting between 1 to 1.5 inches of the stem should do the trick.

Fill the holes with potting soil, and tap the soil compactly around the stems of the cuttings. The cuttings should be able to stand upright when done correctly.

Important Tip: Keep mint plants in check by harvesting the tips of the plant regularly and by trimming the tiny flowers that bloom from June to September before the buds open. It's best to keep the quick-growing mint plant compact.

Step 10. Water the Planted Stem Cuttings

When you're happy with the planting process, proceed to water the newly planted stem cuttings. The soil must be kept moist (not wet), and you should see some new growth after a couple of weeks.

You should keep the newly planted stems out of direct sunlight for at least 10 days. Place the container in an area that has access to bright light.

After 10 days, you can move the mint container to an area where it receives 6 hours of sunlight daily. In hot climates, it's best to ensure that the mint plants get shade during the day.

Important Tip: Water your mint plants daily, especially when the weather is sunny and hot. Aim to keep the soil moist (especially the top inch), and be careful not to overwater. Wilted mint plants can recover from a wilted state by watering the dried out soil, and typically you will see an improvement after a few hours.