Killing Mint-Lots of it!

[Margery]

My son bought a house last year that has many types of mint growing completely around it. It is choking out everything else that the former owner planted with it. At first DS said leave it, he liked the scent. After a year of living with it he now hates it. He's just developing an interest in gardening and I'd like to encourage that. I've read all the horror stories of trying to eradicate it. Pulling it would be impossible, We're talking about at least 150 feet of the stuff. Would Roundup kill it? Anyone had any success?

[wishiwere]

Hmmmmmmm...don't know. This is the first year I've had it live through the winter! Tell him to pot em up and sell em at the farmers market! J/K fo course.

Aren't they pretty shallow roots, seems mine are, then again, they've never made it to the year

Good luck with getting some answers from someone knowledgeable!

[Wanda]

You could try napalm and a 5” thick layer of DDT, but I doubt even that will kill it off completely. Mint is the cockroach of the plant world (along with comfrey and horseradish). You just can’t kill it. About the only thing worth trying is developing a serious yen for mint tea and selling it to others for mint tea.

The only way I have been able to keep it under control is to dig it out, then sift the soil through a window screen to remove as many root bits as possible. Burn the plants and roots...DO NOT put it in your compost heap or a pile out back - that just encourages it! Do this yearly for 5-10 yrs. and you may get it under control...but don’t count on eradicating it.

wanda

[petal*pusher]

Wanda's right......unfortunately, mint is one of those plants that make themselves TOO comfy in your garden!

I have a pot of chocolate mint that I carefully made sure to have planted IN the container.....in able to control mint, it has to be contained in some manner in your garden.....even though I watch it carefully, that little bugger has STILL managed to root itself into surrounding spaces....even under the deck! It's battling it out with the un-welcome trumpet vine each summer.

Wanda's suggestion of screening the soil is absolutely right on too......leaving behind even one little root-runner (stolen) can start your problem all over again!

Any tea-houses close by that would purchase bundles of mint?.........p

[Chris_W]

I say dig it out the best you can. The roots tend to grow horizontally so take a flat blade shovel and start taking it up like carpet. Sift the soil if you have time, then wait a few weeks to see what will come back and then dig up or spray those emerging shoots with roundup. Even then it might not all be killed, so maintenance will be a continuing issue.

But stick to it and I think it can be done.

[thy]

Dig it up as said, the left owers are easy to grab, if you check on a daily or so base.
Or dig up the other plants, check them for mint and cover the area with black plastic for some hot months... the mint have to be in full leave and vwellgrown at the time.
You can steam them, but they do take a lot of steam before they give up

Pia

[Margery]

Thanks everyone. Chris & Pia, at least you give a bit of hope. I talked to the former owner when my son was considering buying the house and she was sooo proud of that mint, like it was her pride and joy that it did so well. There aren't alot of other plants and none that can't easily be replaced. I think this will have to be done in sections, better yet I will show DS what needs to be done and let him go at it!

[DryGulch]

How about a roll of black tar paper rolled out over it for 6 months?

[DryGulch]

How about a roll of black tar paper rolled out over it for 6 months?

[DryGulch]

How about a roll of black tar paper rolled out over it for 6 months?

[kHT]

I use Round Up on our chocolate mint on a yearly bases to keep it in one spot. We tried to dig it all out but it's not going away.