Spearmint, English Mint

Mentha spicata

MEN-thuh spi-KAH-tuh

Mentha spicata L. is the accepted scientific name for this species of Mentha. Both the genus AND species were named and described as such by Carl von Linnaeus in the second volume of the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753.

As of 12-19-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 24 species in the Mentha genus. It is a member of the plant family Lamiaceae with 232 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.

THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.

I brought this Mentha spicata home from a local garden club plant sale in May 2017. This was the first year I had grown any kind of mint so I was anxious to get it planted where it could grow and spread as it pleased. I had a perfect spot, hopefully, in front of the chicken house provided it didn’t get too much shade.

USEFUL INFORMATION:
Family: Lamiaceae.
Origin: See links below.
Zones: USDA Zones 4a-11 (-30 to 40° F).
Size: 12-18” tall.
Light: Sun to part shade.
Soil: Average, well-drained.
Water: Average water needs.
Drought tolerant once established.

Pardon the grass growing in the photos… There is always plenty to do on the farm and sometimes I get a little behind. Sometimes I am just not in the mood and I can think of plenty of reasons. I need to start applying a layer of leaves for mulch which will help a lot. I did that in Mississippi and it worked very well.

In 2018 the Spearmint barely grew so I didn’t take any photos. It didn’t return after that.

Then, in 2021, I think I brought home three plants from the same local garden club’s plant sale. I didn’t take photos at the time, so I forgot whether I brought home one or three plants. GEEZ! In fact, I didn’t take any photos of them at all in 2021. Well, they grew like crazy and put on quite a display of flowers.

Not only did they return, but they also spread like crazy!

I was somewhat in doubt these plants were Mentha spicata because their leaves are rounded at the tips.

The leaves, especially the under surface are slightly pubescent (hairy), and have kind of a rough fuzzy feeling…

The stems are also pubescent. The Missouri Plants website says the stems are glabrous, but that would mean they are smooth… Hmmm… The stems are also square. I have identified over 250 wildflowers but I have a lot of questions about this plant!

I intended to get some good photos when the plants were more upright, but the next thing I knew we had wind and rain, and down they went…

I didn’t take any photos of the spearmint in 2023, but they came up in abundance. It is weird how I couldn’t find a spearmint that would come back the second year. Hardly anything liked the spot I put them either. Well, this one definitely likes this spot, maybe a little too well. They spread like wildfire!

Before when it would rain and the wind would blow, these plants would fall over. We had a drought in 2023, so the plants pretty much stayed verticle until the flowers weighed them down. Even though we didn’t get any rain, I didn’t even give them any water. I think they are here to stay…

I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant.

FOR FURTHER READING:
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
WIKIPEDIA (GENUS/SPECIES)
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN
DAVE’S GARDEN
PFAF (PLANTS FOR A FUTURE)
ILLINOIS WILDFLOWERS
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
GO BOTANY

MORE PHOTOS…