Mentha suaveolens | Apple Mint or Mentha suaveolens (9cm pot)

A vigorous, culinary, apple-scented mint herb with pink-white flowers seed. Position: Full sun Soil: Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil Rate of growth: Fast Flowering period: July to August Hardiness: Fully hardy Apple-scented, grey-green leaves and dense spikes of pink or white summer flowers, makes this vigorous mint decorative as well as practical. It looks lovely growing in a large terracotta container, and the leaves can be used to make the perfect mint jellies and sauces, as well as adding a delicious flavour to salads or freshly boiled new potatoes.

Garden care: To prevent mint from romping through a herb garden, restrict the spread by growing it in a sunken container, with adequate drainage holes. Lift and divide each year in spring, replanting the younger, vigorous sections of the plant in fresh compost. Sowing instructions: From late winter to mid-spring, sow shallowly in trays or pots of good quality seed compost and keep keep moist but not overly wet.

Germination usually takes between 2 and 4 weeks. Seedlings can be transplanted to small pots or cells and then hardened off and planted outside after all risk of frost has passed. Alternatively, sow directly into a well-prepared bed in late spring and when large enough to handle, thin out to allow 25cm between each plant.

Once established, regular picking will help encourage new growth to form. Sow: February to May Harvest: June to November