How Do I Make My Mint Plant Bushy

Welcome to this post about how to make my mint plant bushy. I think everybody wants to have their herbs at home looking healthy and lively while also providing a lot of harvest throughout the season. One of the best ways to achieve this is making the plant bushier. With mint that is not very hard and it’s one of the fastest growing herbs, so you will quickly see results. But there are a few different steps that you need to take to be able to do this.

If you want to learn even more about growing mint at home we have put together a very comprehensive guide that covers a lot of the most common questions, find it here, How To Grow And Care For Mint.

How Do I Make My Mint Plant Bushy

The best way to make your mint plant bushier is practicing correct trimming and cutting of it. As you might be aware of, once you cut off a stem it will most likely grow out two more there. With this in mind we can imagine how fast we can multiply a plant with some time and patience.

So how should you cut the mint to maximize this growth? We always recommend that you cut off a stem sort of close to the main stem where new growths are coming out. You want it to start closer from the main stem as it will appear as more bushy this way. You will also have a bigger plant eventually that can handle rougher trimming.

A really good rule to follow to stay on course with the growth of the plant is to never cut off more than 30 % of it. Anymore and the plant might go into stress and some leaves could fall off. Although mint is a herb that can be cut down to the surface and still come back strong. If you want continued harvest throughout the season then you need to follow that rule.

Another important thing in making your mint more bushy is having it in a very good environment. This includes making sure the soil is well draining and always kept relatively damp. It should never dry out as that will harm the plant. Keep it in the sun for as long as possible, that will always help it grow faster and steadier.

There are many ways to collect the seeds from the mint and secure your supply for the next year. In this article we will discuss some of them, How Do You Collect Mint Seeds.

Do You Pick Mint Leaves From The Top Or Bottom

The choice between picking the mint leaves from the top or the bottom really comes down to if you want the plant to grow out a lot. Picking it from the top will make for new growths to take shape. It will also look a little bit better this way, in our opinion at least. But when you are picking the leaves, if there are no new small growths coming out on the stem then you should cut off the stem entirely. There is no point in keeping barren and empty stems on the plant. They will mostly act as a dead weight on the plant. Cut it off and have two new stems grow out instead.

If you pick the leaves from the bottom then they will most likely be bigger. Then you need to pick less to be satisfied. But it will look a bit weird after a while when the only part that doesn’t have any leaves is the bottom part. In our opinion you want to have a bushier appearance on the herbs in the garden. A lot of the reason for growing stuff is to appreciate the beauty of it. To get the most beautiful mint plant then you need to pick the leaves from the top.

If you want to take it from a perspective of getting as much harvest as possible then we recommend picking from the top. This will rapidly lead to more new growth while the bottom stems act as a support for the entire plant. Another side we want to mention is that you should never pick too much at a time. Usually 30 % of the plant will be enough. Note that however in the end of summer to middle of fall you should do a larger harvest. This is when you cut down almost the whole plant in preparation for winter.

Do you think your mint plant is taking too long to grow and you want to know how long it will be? In this article we will talk about the speed of mint growth. Find it here, How Long Does Mint Take To Grow.

How Do You Pick Mint Leaves So It Keeps Growing

We have briefly talked about this question, how do you pick mint leaves so it keeps growing. The best way in our opinion here is to only pick the leaves at the top of the plant. This will give room to newer growths. Since the lower parts have already established themselves and will help gather energy and supply the rest of the plant.

You should not really only pick the leaves either, as that will leave barren stems on the plant. These don’t really act as anything other than looking bad. So you should cut off entire stems and then pick off the leaves from that.

Even though that might sound counterproductive to making the mint continue growing, it’s the process of cutting off one stem and having two new ones grow out from it. With some patience you will have a very happy and very large mint plant you need to take care of. 

Is your mint plant looking very scraggly? In this article we discuss that exact problem. Find it here, Why Is My Mint Scraggly?