Peppermint can also be propagated by sowing seeds. However, propagation is easier if you cut top cuttings, dig up runners or simply divide the root balls of large plants.
How to propagate peppermint?
Peppermint can be propagated by sowing seeds, top cuttings, runners or dividing the root ball. The easiest way to propagate is through top cuttings and digging up runners from he althy, strong plants in June or July.
The different methods of propagation
- Seeds
- Head cuttings
- foothills
- Share
Sowing peppermint
You can get seeds from specialist retailers or you can leave the flowers in the summer so that they can be fertilized. In the fall you can simply shake out the seeds (€7.00 on Amazon).
The seeds are best sown in spring on the windowsill or outdoors after the ice saints. Peppermint is a light germinator, so you must not cover the seeds with soil.
Propagation by head cuttings
This method is particularly popular because it is so simple. In June or July, cut the desired number of cuttings from very strong plants. The shoots should be between eight and ten centimeters long and have at least four pairs of leaves.
Place the cuttings in potting soil that is mixed from potting soil and sand. Keep them moist but not wet. You can often put them in the desired location in the fall.
Dig up foothills
Peppermint tends to spread via runners. To create a new peppermint bed, dig up the runners and plant them in the desired location. This works easily throughout most of the gardening year.
Divide root balls
What you may already know from other perennials in the garden also works with peppermint. If a plant has become very large, you can divide it and get two or more peppermint plants.
To do this, expose the root ball of the peppermint. Using a sharp spade, pierce the plant in two or, if the ball is very large, in several parts. Make sure that enough roots and shoots remain on each section.
Place the propagated plants in the new location. The best time for dividing perennials is early autumn.
Tips & Tricks
You should never keep peppermint in the herb bed. The herb does not mix well with many other herbs. Peppermint also tends to overgrow, so it quickly overwhelms the other plants in the bed.
