How to Replant a Mint Plant
Planted in a container or in the ground, mint is an attractive herb in a home landscape, valued for its refreshing flavor and pungent aroma. Snip a sprig for flavoring ice cream, tea, a mixed drink, or even fruit, vegetables or meat. Mint is especially effective as a container plant, as the bright green plant decorates a patio or front step and keeps the sometimes-unruly plant under control. A hardy plant, mint tolerates replanting when it outgrows its garden space or container.
In the Ground
Water the mint plant lightly two or three days before replanting.
Use a garden fork or spade to work the soil to a depth of 8 to 10 inches, removing rocks, clods and clumps of weeds. Select a spot where puddles don't remain after a rain, as mint requires soil that drains well.
Insert a garden fork or spade into the soil 4 or 5 inches from the plant to remove it. If the plant is large, dig in a circle around the plant.
Dig a wide, shallow hole in the prepared planting area. Make the hole wide enough to place the plant easily into the hole with extra room for the roots to spread. Make the hole only as deep as the current location of the mint, as burying the crown -- the point where the stem joins the roots -- can smother the plant. Fill the soil back around the plant, then firm the soil around the mint's roots.
Water the replanted mint immediately. For the first few weeks after replanting, water the soil to a depth of about 6 inches whenever the top 1 inch of the soil feels dry to the touch. Unlike most herbs, mint doesn't like dry soil.
Water mint in a container one or two days before replanting.
Fill a container approximately halfway with a general purpose commercial potting soil. Use a container with a drainage hole in the bottom.
Tap the bottom of the container to loosen the roots, and then remove the mint carefully.
Place the mint in the new pot, and then add potting soil around the plant. Adjust the soil in the container if necessary so the planting depth is the same as the planting depth in the previous pot.
Water the replanted mint until water runs through the drainage hole. After that, check the mint daily and water whenever the top of the soil feels dry. Don't water until the potting soil is soggy, but don't allow it to become bone dry.
Place the container where the mint gets morning sunlight but in shade during the hottest part of the afternoon.
- Garden fork or spade
- Container with drainage hole
- General purpose potting soil
- Place mint where it gets at least three to four hours of morning sunlight, but is protected from direct afternoon sunlight.
- Many types of mint easily become invasive, and are difficult to control. To prevent the plant from escaping its boundaries, plant mint in a sturdy, uncracked pot, and then bury the pot in the garden. If you do this, use a pot with no drainage hole to prevent the roots from escaping.
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