query: how to prune an overgrown mint plant?

[Andrew Klossner]

I just moved into a home whose yard contains a mint plant. It has been
growing wild for several months, and is much too big for its location.
I would like to trim it back (and regain the use of the sidewalk), but
I'm concerned. Only the outer part of the bush is green; the inner
stalks are grown, and if I trim it back as much as I want to I won't
leave any green.

Suggestions? I can wait until winter if that's proper. I like having
fresh mint, so total removal is not an option.

-=- Andrew Klossner (decvax!tektronix!tekecs!andrew) [UUCP]
(tekecs!andrew.tektronix@csnet-relay) [ARPA]

[Brian Reid]

Mint is immortal. There is nothing you can do to a mint plant with
conventional (i.e. non-nuclear) weapons that will kill it.

[Daniel R. Levy]

Mint is a pretty tough plant, just about as tough as a weed. Go ahead and
prune it severely. If you like, take the cuttings and root them in water,
(takes a week or so, no hormones or other special stuff needed) then you can
transfer them to a pot of potting soil. This way you can have your mint
greenery till the plant in the yard sprouts more leaves.
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| dan levy | yvel nad | my own and are not at all those of my em-
| an engihacker @ | ployer or the administrator of any computer
| at&t computer systems division | upon which I may hack.
| skokie, illinois |
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[Bruce Bergmann]

> I just moved into a home whose yard contains a mint plant. It has been
> growing wild for several months, and is much too big for its location.
> I would like to trim it back (and regain the use of the sidewalk), but
> I'm concerned. Only the outer part of the bush is green; the inner
> stalks are grown, and if I trim it back as much as I want to I won't
> leave any green.
>
> Suggestions? I can wait until winter if that's proper. I like having
> fresh mint, so total removal is not an option.
>

I would suggest using your lawn mower (or hedge trimmer) :-). Seriously
though, mint gets 'scraggly' this time of the year naturally. I would
suggest you prune it back to ground level (really). Take the prunings,
tie them together with a string and hang them upside down to dry in a
cool dry place. When dry, pick the individual leaves (without crushing
them if possible) and store them in a jar. Mint dries nicely and retains
much of its original flavor and odor- it may not be ideal for mint julips
but makes good tea and may be used in many recipes. For fresh mint, you'll
just have to wait `til next year; mint is a indestrucible as thishle and
comes back every year.

Bruce Bergmann
{ihnp4}!hplabs!hpflca!bruce

[Andrea K. Frankel]

It's impossible to overprune mint! The stuff will grow back from the
teensiest piece of root left in the soil. I have totally decimated it
on the surface, rototilled the soil, covered it with black plastic
and cooked it in the sun - and as soon as I stop actively fighting it,
the stuff comes back. In fact, it seems to thrive on abuse - cutting
off all that brown woody stuff encourages succulent green growth.

Mint is considered a weed by most gardeners I know. In fact, some
gardening books suggest not planting it except in containers or
containers sunk into the ground to sequester the roots. My house
came with a mint patch (which I made the mistake of building a compost
pile on top of - boy, did the mint like that!).

It's a good thing I like fresh tabouli so much!

Andrea Frankel, Hewlett-Packard (San Diego Division) (619) 592-4664
"every time that wheel goes round, bound to cover just a little more ground"
______________________________________________________________________________
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[Peter Benson]

An industrious group of ants are currently farming on my mint
patch using little aphid cows. Now when I was a boy, the Walt
Disney movie on this was fascinating, but as an adult I am
less fascinated. How do I rid the leaves of aphids without
poisoning myself. Watching the little suckers backstroke
across my mint julep just doesn't make it for me.

--
_
Peter Benson | ITT Defense Communications Division
(619)578-3080 | 10060 Carroll Canyon Road
decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!benson | San Diego, CA 92131
ucbvax!sdcsvax!dcdwest!benson |
dcdwest!ben...@SDCSVAX.EDU |

[j...@ptsfa.uucp]

In article <2...@dcdwest.UUCP>, ben...@dcdwest.UUCP (Peter Benson) writes:
> An industrious group of ants are currently farming on my mint

> ...
> Watching the little suckers (aphids) backstroke

> across my mint julep just doesn't make it for me.
>

Try insecticidal soap, or a Rotenone/Copper type spray. Wait a day,
water well for a few days, and go on and use your mint. Hasn't hurt
me so far.

Disclaimer: Hasn't hurt *me* so far.
John Girard
ptsfa!jeg

[C...@psuvm.bitnet]

Those of you who say mint is indestructable -- Can you suggest why
my mint patch, which has been thriving in my garden for maybe 4-5
years now, came up very sparsely and has grown only weakly this
summer? I live in central PA where the tops normally die entirely
in the winter, we had a normal (not severe) winter last year, and
this summer was cooler and wetter than average. The patch is
invaded by quack grass, but that isn't new and other years the
mint grew thickly in spite of the quack grass. The area hasn't
been sprayed with anything.

Any suggestions?

--Carolyn J. Clark

Bitnet: CJC at PSUVM
UUCP : :allegra, akgua, ihnp4:!psuvax!C...@PSUVM.BITNET

[tho...@utah-gr.uucp]

The canonical organic way to get rid of aphids is with ladybugs. There
are mail-order places that will ship you a box full if you can't find
them locally. Check for ads in Organic Gardening or a like publication.
--
=Spencer ({ihnp4,decvax}!utah-cs!thomas, tho...@utah-cs.ARPA)

[Chester Liu]

In article <17...@utah-gr.UUCP>, tho...@utah-gr.UUCP writes:
> The canonical organic way to get rid of aphids is with ladybugs. There
> are mail-order places that will ship you a box full if you can't find
> them locally. Check for ads in Organic Gardening or a like publication.

Where do they lay their eggs? Will they be back next spring?