4

I found a mint plant in a friend's yard. It's very tall. There are three individual stalks. One is nearly two feet tall, the other two a bit under half that. The big one is fully flowered. The large plant has no leaves on the bottom half of the stalk. What should I do to nurse it back to health? Should I cut the big one in half?

J. Musser
  • 51,627
  • 21
  • 115
  • 320
user11720
  • 41
  • 1
  • 2
  • 1
    DEFINITELY need to have an id on your mint plant. Mint is a super plant and also a very invasive weed type plant. Extremely hardy, vigorous. To hear anyone saying their mint is unhealthy is very unusual. Need to see the environment (shade, soil, competitors)...a close up of leaves, buds, flowers! stalk. Mint does well with a major cutback once a year. But lets see what you are truly dealing with! I've never known an overly large mint with only three stalks and mint flowers are pretty much unnoticeable. PLEASE SEND A FEW PICTURES! – stormy Jul 16 '15 at 03:40
  • 2
    Agree - pictures would seem essential, because what you're describing may not even be mint... unless it was in a pot – Bamboo Jul 16 '15 at 10:41
  • Here's the pictures. http://imgur.com/a/FtQ4s It definitely smells like mint. To the best of my knowledge it looks like mint too – user11720 Jul 17 '15 at 02:54
  • 1
    It appears to be Anise Hyssop https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agastache_foeniculum – rheone Jul 17 '15 at 18:52

1 Answers1

4

Mint: Prune hard. New branches will start from the axils. (place where leaf attaches to stem)

With the prunings:

Take cuttings 6-8" long. Put in water. Set in cool but cloudy bright place. (North facing porch or window works. If you house is dry put a bag over the container.

They will root in a few weeks. Pot up.

As they grow, pinch the tip every time it does another 3 inches. This will keep them bushy and attractive.

Sherwood Botsford
  • 2,399
  • 15
  • 23