It is by far my favourite mint.Īpplemint is another vigorous grower in zone 3. It dies back every year in my zone 3 climates but makes vigorous growth when the snow disappears. It has a strong peppermint taste and aids digestion. Unfortunately, it is a short-lived perennial here in zone 3 - when I can get it to overwinter.Ĭhocolate mint has the fragrance of peppermint patties. (If you are in the USA, Richter ships with a phytosanitary certificate.) It’s one of my favourite mints. If you are in a zone 5 to 9 it’s a great mint variety to grow – available from Richter’s herbs. Jim Westerfield’s Sweet Pear Mint™ tastes like minted pears. These are more tender than the varieties that I can grow in zone 3, but worth it if you are warm enough. Many of them were hybridized by Jim Westerfield in Illinois. Richter’s herbs list 35 different mint varieties. There are several varieties of mint to choose from depending on your gardening zone. Peppermint plants have a cooling taste and fragrance and are the first plant that comes to mind when we say “mint”. Mint family plants can be identified by their square stems and opposite leaves. Mint has its bed, away from the vegetable garden, where it can thrive and where I can expect abundant harvests.Īre all mints peppermint? No there are many varieties of mint.

Here on the mountain, in zone 3, with summer frosts, mint is one of the few herbs that will grow and overwinter, so we let it take over where it will. This is good advice if you garden on a small lot with minimal garden space, or if you live in a zone where mint thrives, with lots of water. It grows so aggressively that most garden books advise you to enclose the roots of peppermint in a pot to prevent it from taking over your garden bed. Are you growing peppermint in your garden? What do you think of when you hear the word “peppermint”? Do you think of the cooling cup of peppermint tea from the Stash tea line? Or the curiously strong Altoids mints you keep in your purse? Or perhaps you consider the fragrant herb that you brush past on the way through the garden gate at your neighbour’s house.