Hi all,

Some couple of months ago I cut a number stems from my mint plant and
placed them in water. After a few weeks, white roots started growing.
The intention being to replant the mint in other places.

Well, the first plant I planted grew and is doing fine. I did this
before winter. The next plants I placed in pots (indoors) just died
away.

Is it the wrong time of year to do this procedure or am I doing
something wrong?

Thanks,
Max

MaxMustermann wrote:
Hi all,

Some couple of months ago I cut a number stems from my mint plant and
placed them in water. After a few weeks, white roots started growing.
The intention being to replant the mint in other places.

Well, the first plant I planted grew and is doing fine. I did this
before winter. The next plants I placed in pots (indoors) just died
away.

Is it the wrong time of year to do this procedure or am I doing
something wrong?

Thanks,
Max


It's often difficult for cuttings to survive being potted if they were
rooted in water. The survival is much better if you start them in a
potting mix.

I find the best mix for cuttings is a 50-50 mix of peat moss and
"washed" plaster sand. This is the basis of my regular potting mix
described at http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html.
However, for cuttings, I omit the compost and omit ALL nutrients. While
compost contains many beneficial micro-organisms, it also contains some
that can cause cuttings to rot. Nutrients are not needed until good
root growth is achieved and the cut heals; before then, nutrients can
also promote rot. In any case, mint will thrive in a "lean" mix without
many nutrients, although some nitrogen is needed if you harvest the mint
frequently.

Finally, there is the problem of growing mint indoors. Mint is really
not a house plant. In the winter, heating a home can make the air too
dry. Mint requires a lot of water, in both the soil and the air.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/

MaxMustermann wrote:
Hi all,

Some couple of months ago I cut a number stems from my mint plant and
placed them in water. After a few weeks, white roots started growing.
The intention being to replant the mint in other places.

Well, the first plant I planted grew and is doing fine. I did this
before winter. The next plants I placed in pots (indoors) just died
away.

Is it the wrong time of year to do this procedure or am I doing
something wrong?

Thanks,
Max

Hello, Max,

I always transfer my mint outdoors after I root it. I can't say
whether that is a good solution for you, unless I know where you live.
I'm in San Jose, California, which has a Mediterranean climate,
conducive to growing mint. I have also had mint in pots die, but only
after it had grown for quite a while, thus exhausting the resources in
the pot. Did you get growth? Flowers? How long did the plants last
before they died?

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cutting survival through an indoor winter are low. You can have all
sorts of infections. Mint is best transplanted from place to place by
taking suckers with roots. You can do it in the spring, if the weather
is mild and you water well they will survive.

I am puzzled by mint. It grows so vigourously outdoors, but when I
transferred some plants to pots to grow indoors in the winter, they just
died on me. I conclude that it won't do well indoors, at least not here
(dry house, less light in winter).

Andrew

"MaxMustermann" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,

Some couple of months ago I cut a number stems from my mint plant and
placed them in water. After a few weeks, white roots started growing.
The intention being to replant the mint in other places.

Well, the first plant I planted grew and is doing fine. I did this
before winter. The next plants I placed in pots (indoors) just died
away.

Is it the wrong time of year to do this procedure or am I doing
something wrong?

Thanks,
Max

"MaxMustermann" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,

Some couple of months ago I cut a number stems from my mint plant and
placed them in water. After a few weeks, white roots started growing.
The intention being to replant the mint in other places.

Well, the first plant I planted grew and is doing fine. I did this
before winter. The next plants I placed in pots (indoors) just died
away. Is it the wrong time of year to do this procedure or am I doing
something wrong?

The problem was you didn't plant the mint in the ground next to the lawn.
Mint knows when it's planted next to the lawn, then it spreads like wild
fire in every direction.

-S