Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-592
Apple Mint
Mentha suaveolens
Apple Mint is a fast-spreading perennial with densely hairy, spearmint-flavored leaves, usually chopped into a dish or brewed as a tea rather than used whole as a garnish because of that texture. Its aroma repels insects and rodents, making it a common companion planting near cabbages and tomatoes, and once its runners close over the ground it works as a weed-suppressing cover. In hot summers it needs steady water rather than shelter - drought kills it well before heat does. It spreads so readily from root fragments that it colonizes any damp open ground it reaches, so it is usually grown behind a sunk barrier or hard edge unless that spread is exactly what is wanted.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 5–9
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Moderate · Moist
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 6–7.5
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 12–24 in
- Mature spread
- 12–24 in
- Plant spacing
- 12–15 in
- Root type
- Rhizome
- Spread pattern
- Root
Keep exploring
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Agrimony
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Alfalfa
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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