Advice for growing and making my own mint tea?
I recently purchased a sweet mint plant from Walmart and have a few questions about its care and how to make mint tea. I’ve planted it in a larger pot that is approximately 9 inches in diameter and 5.25 inches high. Here are my questions:
- How quickly does sweet mint grow? I want to avoid plucking off too many leaves and harming the plant due to my eagerness.
- Is sweet mint a seasonal plant or does it grow year-round? Can it thrive indoors as long as it receives adequate sunlight?
- The tag indicates that the plant can grow between 12 and 24 inches high. Should I aim to keep it within that size range? What height would be healthiest for a pot of this size?
- Are there any pests I should be concerned about that might eat the plant? What are some effective ways to protect it?
- Should I provide a support pole or something similar for the plant to grow around?
- The tag suggests watering it regularly. Would it be sufficient to give it about a cup of water every other day if there’s no rain, or should I check the soil moisture instead?
- How long can I expect sweet mint to live?
- Should I consider repotting the plant at some point? Would it be acceptable to leave it in the same pot indefinitely and just trim it back when it becomes too large?
- Is there anything I can do to promote the plant's health?
Additionally, regarding making mint tea: 1. Can anyone suggest how many leaves to use per cup? I would appreciate a specific number instead of just a handful. 2. Would drying the mint leaves after picking them make them more potent? 3. If I decide to dry the leaves, should I simply leave them out to air dry for a few days, or is it better to bake them?
1 Answers
Mint can grow very quickly, and as long as you don’t remove more than half the leaves at any given time it should be fine. Mint is pretty hard to kill. I’d put it in a larger pot to give it room to spread, which it will if given a chance. It isn’t going to do as well indoors as it would outdoors unless you use artificial light and lots of it. It doesn’t need full sun outdoors, but indoor light just doesn’t compare and mint is basically an outdoor plant. It’s a seasonal plant where I live, dying down after first frost and starting to grow again in spring. I don’t know what it does in warmer climates but most plants have a season, in any climate.
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