How Long Does Mint Take To Grow
Welcome to this post about how long does mint take to grow. It can be frustrating waiting for your herbs to finally be ready to harvest from. But thankfully mint is one of the fastest growing herbs to have at home. From the very day you sow the first seed it will take about 90 days for it to grow 1 – 2 feet tall. Compared to other culinary herbs to have at home, that’s really fast.
If you want to learn even more about growing mint at home then you can read our most comprehensive guide covering many topics surrounding that, find it here, How To Grow And Care For Mint.
How Long Does Mint Take To Grow
Mint is a very fast growing herb to have at home. Like we said in the beginning of this article, from the day you sow the first seed it will be ready to be harvested after 90 days. Only a few other herbs could come close to that speed really.
One of the reasons why mint is so popular to grow at home is because of this rapid growth. It’s fun and almost addicting to see your plant grow more and more for each day that goes.
The first part of growing mint is when it starts to germinate. This is when the seed will start developing its first roots after taking in nutrition from the soil. So making sure that the soil is healthy is one of the first steps for success. This process will normally take about 10 – 15 days and at the end of that period you should see the first signs of life above the surface of the soil. When you see this you will really just treat it the same way as before. Making sure the soil does not dry out and there is no water pooling at the bottom of the container.
If you are growing from cuttings the first couple of weeks will be spent in water to develop roots. After this it will be planted in a healthy soil where it can start to further expand. The biggest benefit of growing from cuttings is that you will skip ahead almost 3 weeks of growth. So once you have a few established mint plants they will quickly be able to generate even more ones. If you weren’t aware either is that mint is a perennial herb that can stick around for many many years.
Sometimes your mint plant might be growing very leggy or thin. In this article we discuss how you can make it bushy. Find it here, How Do I Make My Mint Plant Bushy?
How Can I Make My Mint Grow Faster
The best way to make sure that your mint grows faster is to have it in the best possible environment. It really likes a well drained soil where the water will not pool and cause the roots to rot. On the contrary you want to keep the soil damp at all times. Never let it dry out because then the mint plant will go into stress and might shed leaves and stop growth because of this. It goes into a power reserve. So having this step covered is vital to having a mint plant that grows very fast.
On top of having a very well draining soil you need healthy soil. If you are unsure if your soil is healthy or not you can basically just look at the plant. The leaves are wilting and looking sad. Then probably the soil is not very healthy. Then you could add some fertilizer or manure to the soil. This will help give it a boost. If you go the route of fertilizer then make sure it’s organic, otherwise it might not be a very good idea to eat any of the herb.
The last important step you need to take to maximize the growth of your mint is to keep it in the sun. Whether that be inside or outside, all herbs and plants need the sun. Growing indoors makes sure it gets about 10 hours of sunlight, but growing outdoors it will be fine within 6 – 8 hours.
Growing mint from cuttings you have taken yourself is a great way of prolonging the life of your mint line. In this article we will discuss how you can do that. Find it here, How To Grow Mint From Cuttings.
Can Mint Grow In Water Forever
Unfortunately mint can not grow in water forever. Or at least not the most common one which is Peppermint. Mint can however ever grow very well in water if it’s a cutting. Then it’s actually the best way to grow mint. Because these cuttings have not yet formed any roots, they can do that the fastest in just water.
It’s always very risky placing newly cut stems directly into soil and not water first. They almost get stressed out with the soil. Even though you might believe that your mint cutting will survive in water after you have tried to propagate it. We recommend that you never let the cutting sit in water for more than three weeks at the most. Ideally the best time is only two weeks.
The roots are still very new and will not survive the whole year. For a sustainable and for the longevity of your plant you should have it growing in soil. That is the most natural habitat for it and where it should be. When you are growing the mint in water however you should place it next to a window where it can indulge in the sun for as much as possible. Like we said, the cutting is very vulnerable at this stage so they need all the help they can get.
Are you concerned that the mint you are planting will spread? In this article here we will be talking about what types of mint that spread. Find it here, Does All Mint Spread?
