Hi champagne
In my experience, mint is pretty much indistructible and I'd get it out NOW. Loosten the rootball and try to lift the whole thing. Have a good dig around and pull out any stolons you can find (they're white and quite obvious).
Take off good mojito-making leaves, chop finely and freeze into icecubes.
Cut off a couple of good, healthy stolons, bung them in a pot and partially bury it in a sunny spot. You'll be able to see if the mint's making a bid for freedom while keeping the roots moist and leaves in the sun which makes mint happy. (My Nana had mint round the outside tap. It was very happy indeed)
I don't know your climate, but I imagine mint would survive winter just fine in a greenhouse. It'll die down and come back exuberantly in spring.
Do not underestimate the power of mint. It's really, really tough. Go and get it out of your garden.
BTW if you've got more than you can drink, it dries well for mint teas etc...
good luck

The answer to all your questions is - YES !!!

Agreed with gator mom. If you don't do something soon you're gonna regret it.

IME the best tactic to keep this plant under control is to keep it contained in a 5-gal bucket, sunk about 2/3 below grade, holes drilled in bottom and lower 1-2" only. The protruding rim helps prevent falling over and rooting.

Dan

I planted mine in the yard it can spread all it wants it will just get mowed down
I can't beleive it even grew the seeds were dated 1986 and it sprouted better than any other herbs this spring somebody should do some research on using it to save the world like they did soybeans and peanuts (:

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I took it. Mint is all dug out of the bed and put into pots. I also harvested two huge ziplock bags worth for the freezer. I'll still have plenty of fresh leaves for mojitos, too.

For those interested, I planted two very small pots of something called "Grapefruit Mint" and two of "Mint Julep" spearmint. The Grapefruit mint had a wretched flavor and I just tossed it. (In the compost, without the roots). It, however, didn't have those white runners attached to it.

The spearmint did have white runners EVERYWHERE already. I think I did this just in time. (And I'll watch for errant sprouts carefully). It really is an impressively hardy thing.

Note to self: Research a plant BEFORE buying, planting, and waiting for three months of growth!

Note to self: Research a plant BEFORE buying, planting, and waiting for three months of growth!

H_ll, you knew it tasted good in mojitos, so what more research did you need?! ;o)

IMHO mint might be the most common garden issue out there.

Dan

I did the same thing planting mint in my vegetable garden and realized quickly it was mistake. This is the third year trying to get rid of it. It seems almost gone but it did pull out a sprout last week. I have some planted by my front door now and I'm sure it'll spread but it has a lot of competition.

I don't know what kind of size your plant got to, but at least now you can be sure to eliminate the mint from the garden AND those new sprouts will be a good way to get extra mint plants for pots :)

I just recently put my first mint into my garden - a corsican mint, which is sold as a "steppable" plant and smells strongly of peppermint candy. I just couldn't resist getting some after doing some landscaping work where some was growing and stepping all over it, releasing the smell en masse. I'm no stranger to weeding and so am prepared to deal with stray mints for the time being.

I'll have to diverge from the consensus a bit.
I have 6-7 varities of mint in my yard & use them all for teas (fresh & dried). I give heaps of dry away as well. Two reasons my mints don't get out of control: 1) regular pruning & 2) the holes I dig for them are surrounded by clay. The little bit that spreads into the clay doesn't get far AND helps loosen the clay.

Do you want to grow mint? If someone wants to discuss this question with you, I suggest that you cite the following link.

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/mint-growing-guide

"All mints prefer a cool, moist spot in partial shade but will also grow in full sun. Mint is extremely variable from seed. Instead, order plants from a reputable source, or visit a nursery to find plants whose flavor and aroma appeal to you. One plant of each cultivar you select will soon provide more than enough mint for home use "the big problem is to keep them from overrunning all neighboring plants. To avoid this, plant mints in bottomless containers that are at least 15 inches deep and sunk in the ground with one or two inches protruding above the soil surface, or plant above the ground in tubs and barrels."

Here is a link that might be useful: I dug up an old post for the heck it to paste a link I Google'd

This post was edited by nc-crn on Mon, Jan 13, 14 at 12:44

I planted apple mint 2 years ago and it is taking over, in a good way! ;) It is a cold weather perennial.