Planting for Privacy Screening

I'm really interested in seeing how fast the Green Giant Arborvitae grow and I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for the information.

SW

Summer Wind wrote: Here's the list so

Keep that Spearmint well contained or you'll have no room for anything else in a short time. It sends runners several inches below ground that can pop up many feet away. It is probably impossible to remove by pulling once established.

No probably to it, it IS impossible to remove by hand pulling. voiice of experience for I had made the mistake of planting it direvt into a border dn I have to go out weekly to yank out the excess.

Planting spearmint in a large pot in the ground works pretty well. And out of the ground for that matter.

others may disagree, Anthony B.

Planting spearmint in a large pot in the middle of a concrete slab is the safest place if you are going to plant it at all. I dug roots out of a 20 foot circle for 2 years before finally getting it all out. The only thing I've planted that was harder to eradicate was passion flower vine and a trumpet flower vine.

Tom J

I have had no luck with spearmint in a pot. Our old house had spearmint, and I am familiar with its invasive nature. At our old place, I'd rip out every last bit of spearmint in the fall, and we'd have as much spearmint as I'd ever want the next spring. I still really liked having spearmint nonetheless, and use it for cooking.

I've planted spearmint now in a spot where the soil is very poor, and it is surrounded by concrete on three sides. Nothing wants to grow there, except a very ugly juniper I'd probably rip out if it wasn't the only green thing that has survived on that plot. I've worked in compost every year and even so, there's very little that seems to want to be there long term. This year I stuck spearmint on it, on the theory that it would be more or less contained by the concrete, and nothing else is growing there, anyway.

"Tom J" expounded:

Ch This is known as Florida Ground Cherry in Florida.

It is so invasive that once it shows up in your yard, total elimination becomes a continuous, monumental but imposible task.

I didn't know spearmint was such a problem. You and the other posters have convinced me to grow it in a large pot, if at all.

Thanks, SW

SW, it can be well behaved so long as you bear in mind that it must have its roots containsed in some fashion

Anthony B.

Unless you have nothing better to do than pull speariment from other flower beds and from the lawn, take my word for it don't plant it. I spent most of last spring killing off a very large patch that took over the west side of my house. Roundup, and lots of it, is the only way to kill it . Chuckie in the frozen north, zone 5

It can be a problem, but it isn't always. The previous owners planted mint in a flower bed. Yes, after ten years it is still here but it hasn't taken over my lawn or garden. I simple pull it a couple times a year when I weed. I wouldn't however take any chances if I were you as your results may be different. I also wouldn't put it in a pot and think that you have it cornered. I planted some chocolate mint in one of those planters that straddle your deck railing. It managed to find its way to the ground below. It eventually died without any intervention, probably because the area was too shady. The lesson here it to prevent it from going to seed by sheering off any flowers that develop. I find that plants in the mint family like lemon balm, mint, monarda, and coleus tend to self-seed more successfully than most other plants in my garden.