Hi all,
Some couple of months ago I cut a number stems from my mint plant and placed them in water. After a few weeks, white roots started growing. The intention being to replant the mint in other places.
Well, the first plant I planted grew and is doing fine. I did this before winter. The next plants I placed in pots (indoors) just died away.
Is it the wrong time of year to do this procedure or am I doing something wrong?
Thanks, Max
It's often difficult for cuttings to survive being potted if they were rooted in water. The survival is much better if you start them in a potting mix.
I find the best mix for cuttings is a 50-50 mix of peat moss and "washed" plaster sand. This is the basis of my regular potting mix described at . However, for cuttings, I omit the compost and omit ALL nutrients. While compost contains many beneficial micro-organisms, it also contains some that can cause cuttings to rot. Nutrients are not needed until good root growth is achieved and the cut heals; before then, nutrients can also promote rot. In any case, mint will thrive in a "lean" mix without many nutrients, although some nitrogen is needed if you harvest the mint frequently.
Finally, there is the problem of growing mint indoors. Mint is really not a house plant. In the winter, heating a home can make the air too dry. Mint requires a lot of water, in both the soil and the air.
Hello, Max,
I always transfer my mint outdoors after I root it. I can't say whether that is a good solution for you, unless I know where you live. I'm in San Jose, California, which has a Mediterranean climate, conducive to growing mint. I have also had mint in pots die, but only after it had grown for quite a while, thus exhausting the resources in the pot. Did you get growth? Flowers? How long did the plants last before they died?
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I am puzzled by mint. It grows so vigourously outdoors, but when I transferred some plants to pots to grow indoors in the winter, they just died on me. I conclude that it won't do well indoors, at least not here (dry house, less light in winter).
Andrew
The problem was you didn't plant the mint in the ground next to the lawn. Mint knows when it's planted next to the lawn, then it spreads like wild fire in every direction. :)
-S
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