Scientific Name
Mentha longifolia (L.) L.
Common Name(s)
Horse Mint, Wild Mint, Biblical Mint, Silver Mint, Brook Mint, Water Mint, Long-leaved Mint
Synonym(s)
Mentha longifolia var. longifolia, Mentha candicans, Mentha fluvialis, Mentha grisella, Mentha mellifluens, Mentha mollissima, Mentha sedunensis, Mentha serrata, Mentha spicata subsp. longifolia, Mentha spicata var. longifolia, Mentha suavis, Mentha tenorei, Mentha uliginosa, Mentha vermiciformis, Mentha virgultorum, Mentha weinerniena
Scientific Classification
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Nepetoideae
Tribe: Mentheae
Genus: Mentha
Flower
Color: Pale purple or white
Bloom Time: Summer
Description
Mentha longifolia is a spreading perennial with hairy green to grey-green leaves with a musty minty smell. It grows up to 4 feet (1.2 m) tall. The leaves are up to 4 inches (10 cm) long and 0.8 inches (2 cm) wide. Branched tapering spires of tiny pale purple or white flowers are produced from mid to late summer.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 6a to 9b: from −10 °F (−23.3 °C) to 30 °F (−1.1 °C).
How to Grow and Care
Mint is one of the few culinary herbs that grow well in shady areas, although it can handle full sun if kept watered.
Mint cuttings will root easily in soil or water, and mature plants can be divided and transplanted. However, you can start new plants from seed. Sow outdoors in late spring or start seed indoors about 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost. Keep soil moist until the seed germinates.
Mint prefers rich, moist soil with a slightly acidic pH between 6.5 and 7.0. If the soil is somewhat lean, top-dress yearly with organic matter and apply an organic fertilizer mid-season after shearing.
To contain the roots and limit spreading, you can grow Mint in containers above or sink them into the ground. However, keep container Mints from flopping over and touching the ground. Stems will root quickly if given a chance.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Mint Plants.
Origin
This species is native to Europe, excluding Britain and Ireland, western and central Asia, and northern and southern (but not tropical) Africa.
Links
- Back to genus Mentha
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
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