Years and years ago, when I was new to gardening, I planted some spearmint in a corner of my garden. I spent the next three years pulling it out of the lawn. Yep, it's hardy as heck -- at least, spearmint is! Don't know if that's also true for other varieties, like chocolate or pineapple mint.

Oh my yes, it's quite hardy. Cold, drought, nuclear holocaust, won't phase mint. ItÂs rampant here in zone 4. YouÂll soon have plenty for recipes, garnish, and potpourri. House cats love it, butterflies love it.

Spearmint and peppermint are a couple of the hardiest forms - should be good to zone 3 and are considered fully perennial. A couple of other species - pineapple, chocolate, Corsican - are not as tough and it may be prudent to take cuttings.

Well, if it will survive a nuclear holocaust I guess it's safe to assume it will do fine in zone 5 LOL LOL!

I don't know what kind of mint this is, whatever they sell at the market is what it is. I always get it at the same market and it always tastes the same, but it isn't labelled, only says "mint".

I let mine wander into the lawn. This allows me to smell fresh mint while mowing :-) It also smells nice when you step on it. My little niece really likes it.

I bought a pot of apple mint in 1979 and set it out. Last year I finally succeeded in eradicating it. With Round-up.

Yep, I agree, mint is very ssssstrong! I recently created a new tiny bed with spearmint, apple mint, japanese anemone and yarrow, I'm completely sure all that plants will *excellently* survive a nuclear holocaust! :-)

Moral of the story ... unless you REALLLLY like mint, try to contain it -- plant it in a barrel or tub & cut off the flowering heads [particularly along the edge of the "containment" area].

: )

Hey, mxk3, did you root cut mint stems from the grocery store, or were they little plants already rooted?

And BTW everyone, I managed to kill mint by planting it in dry shade, of which I have a lot.

Years ago I remember there was some sort of TV movie?? that had 3 short horror bits. One was actually Steven King where some alien plant started growing everywhere, including on him. I always thought that had to be mint:)

The best way to grow mint:

Find a parking lot
Dig small hole in middle of parking lot
Plant mint

Maybe, just maybe it won't escape.

This post has me laughing!!

Maybe I should just keep my mint in some pots on the patio.....

I do love tabbouleh, though, which is what I primarily need the mint for, I could eat that stuff by the feed bucketful, especially on a hot summer day.

Ginny: I rooted the cuttings from a small bundle of mint from the market, they weren't pre-rooted.

If it grows that rampantly, why does it cost $1.99 for a small bundle!?! A huge bundle of parsley is only 89 cents. Go figure...

Thanks for the reply, mxk3. I would never have thought of rooting cut mint like that. And I think it is so expensive because people like us just have to have it for certain recipes, especially in spring and summer. I make a honeydew-mint sorbet that is to die for--cut the recipe out of the paper years ago. My mouth is watering as I type!

I just stuck a few springs in a glass of water on a sunny windowsill - no kidding, I saw roots within 3-4 days. After got a lot of roots, I potted them up, growing on the windowsill until I will plant them out in the spring. Super, super easy.

I have a varigated mint that came with the house when I moved in 8 years ago. I have tried every year to get rid of it but have yet to be sucessful.

You might want to try mxk3's suggestion this winter and plant them in a container next year rather than directly in the ground. Short of an atomic bomb, nothing will kill this plant (and even then I'm not so sure). I've had good luck using it this way. :o)

I have been fairly successful getting rid of it (came with the house) by digging all of the dirt in the area and sifting through for the tiniest of pieces.

I wouldn't grow it (maybe in pots, but would watch for seeds).

I am not even sure it couldn't get through a barrier in the ground...bet it would go under (no matter how deep)...very persistant plant, indeed.

I planted several varieties of mint in a shady spot near an outdoor faucet. It grows very well - replacing a rather scraggly lawn - when there's too much - I just mow. This is an "invasive" plant that is only invasive IF you plant it where it should not be. Like in a bed full of delicate perennials.