Why Is My Mint Plant So Thin
Welcome to this post that will give a couple of reasons why your mint plant might be very thin. The most common reason for it growing this way is the access to the sun. If it doesn’t get enough during the day and it stays that way for many weeks then it will end up like this. Mint doesn’t have a lot of requirements for growing very well but sun is one that it definitely needs. Luckily we have written this article that will go over some stuff you can do to make sure you have a thriving mint plant. Follow along!
If you want to learn more about growing mint then we have written an article that goes over how to get a bushy mint plant, meaning more harvest and a prettier plant too. You can find it here, How Do I Make My Mint Plant Bushy?
Why Is My Mint Plant So Thin
We hunted in the beginning of this article why it might be that your mint plant is growing the way it does. Most likely it’s because of too little sun during the day. We usually recommend that herbs growing indoors need to get about 10 hours of sun per day. But if you are growing outdoors they only need between 6 – 8 hours. During the summer these numbers are a lot easier to reach, but during the winter it can be more difficult. That’s why you need to adapt to the way it’s changing.
One of the ways you can adapt is by holding back on trimming the plant during these times. Since it’s not getting a lot of sun, the new off shoots coming out will mostly be thin and continue to grow thin. It is also more healthier for the plant to harvest during the summer as this is when it can regrow the fastest. It can handle being trimmed down almost 30 % at a time.
Why Is My Mint Not Growing Well?
It might be that you sow the seeds during the winter time and then they will definitely grow thin. I have had that problem before as well. I wanted to get a headstart on the growing season and figured I’d start indoors. That just ended up with thin and scraggly mint seedlings that wouldn’t survive being put outdoors when the frost was over.
We recommend now that you start sowing mint indoors in about April. If you want to sow outdoors you can do that in May. These times can of course differ depending on where you live. But they act as a very good rule of thumb to use.
Another very good tip when growing mint is to do it in a pot. This will make it very mobile and you can now keep it wherever the sun is shining. Then it shouldn’t be a problem during the summer at least and probably not spring and autumn. If you go this route then you should definitely get a pot with small holes in the bottom. That will let all the excess water drain out and you won’t be left with drowned roots that otherwise will start to rot.
I want to reiterate again on what we have talked about. Mint will mostly grow thin because of the lesser access to sun it might have during certain seasons. Make sure that it gets enough so that it will grow properly. 10 hours indoors and 7 hours outdoors is a good reference point to start from. A good tip is to grow in a pot so you can move it around to maximize the exposure.
If you are wondering why your mint plant might be growing scraggly then we have written a guide about that too, find it here, Why Is My Mint Scraggly.
