This Landscape Designer Says We’ve Been Planting Mint All Wrong

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There are so many benefits to growing mint at home: beyond the culinary ones, the fast-growing herb also acts as a natural pest repellent, thanks to its aromatic qualities, while at the same time attracting pollinators like bees and butterflies. But chances are, you’ve been told to plant mint only in containers—and never in garden beds—because it will overtake everything in its path.

Since it spreads through rhizomes, which are underground horizontal stems that produce new shoots, mint does have a reputation for “shoving out” other plants growing around it. For this reason, garden experts often advise using strict containment methods—limiting mint to containers only, planting it in submerged pots, or installing root barriers at least 18 inches deep—to limit its growth.

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But Birmingham, Alabama–based landscape designer Zachary Westall insists you can plant it in garden beds, so long as you’re thoughtful in selecting what you plant nearby. “The trick isn’t containment but pairing mint with equally vigorous plants so no one variety has an easy advantage,” he says. “In fact, for a truly carefree garden, consider planting multiple mint varieties, from apple mint and Kentucky Colonel to Moroccan mint and peppermint, together. You’ll have a thriving ‘battle of the mints’ garden—with very little maintenance.”

Of course, no garden is 100 percent maintenance-free. But Westall insists that care for a mint garden consists of occasional cutting. “Let the mint flower for the pollinators, then cut the blooms before they set seed to prevent unwanted seedlings and keep the collection distinct,” he says.

When you’re ready to harvest your mint, snip the top one-third of the stem below the flower. But “don’t be afraid to give cuts deep into the mint if the leaves are looking tattered or sun-bleached,” adds Westall. “It will only help with its vigor.”

As for what else to consider planting with mint? “I’d stick with vigorous roses: shrub and old garden roses, as well as substantial climbing and rambling roses,” says Westall. The garden designer notes that perennials with strong, persistent root systems, such as hardy geraniums, Japanese anemones, monarda, asters, rudbeckia, solidago, perennial sunflowers, and vigorous ornamental grasses, should also be able to hold their own.

“The idea isn’t that these plants will contain the mint but that they’re strong enough to coexist with it,” says Westall. “Mint weaving between these stronger plants makes an excellent living ground cover, filling gaps and softening the planting while the more vigorous plants hold their own.” That said, Westall advises against planting mint with oregano, parsley, and rosemary. “In my experience, mint will completely overtake those other herbs.”

Westall offers a few tips for managing mint growth when mixing it in with other species. “First, when feeding roses and other perennials, apply fertilizer directly around the root zone and water it in deeply rather than broadcasting it around the bed,” he says. “That concentrates the feeding around the roses or perennials without encouraging more aggressive mint growth.”

Finally, Westall cautions against piling on fresh mulch over the bed in the spring. “That gives the mint runners (or rhizomes) a perfect new layer to scramble through before the perennials emerge, allowing it to get ahead of slower-emerging plants.”

Spearmint SeedsApple Apple Mint PlantHarley Seeds Kentucky Colonel Mint SeedsMoroccan Mint Plant

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