A soft leaved gentle mint, this makes a mellow caramel flavoured tea which is clean and refreshing and can be added to sweet dishes and fruits. It doesn’t spread as rapidly as some other varieties. 9x9cm pot (8cm depth)
Description
- Loved by bees
- Easy to grow
- Aromatic
- Will trail over pots
As well as a culinary herb and its use in confectionary, mint has traditionally been used as a tea for treating headaches and digestive disorders, in modern medicine it is widely used in the treatment of gastrointestinal tract disorders and relieving wind and colic. The flowers are very attractive to bees and it is thought to be a mouse and rat repellent. A lovely mint with the soft hues of lemon thrown in which makes a refreshing tea, especially chilled in summer and is good in cocktails and fruity dishes.
Plant Care
- Height: 30-60cm
- Type: Hardy
- Aspect: Sun/shade
- Soil: Any/alkaline
- Flower colour: Purple
- Flowering period: July - September
On the whole mints are fast growing perennials that love good rich soil and grow in both sun and shade successfully. Planted in heavy soils they spread rapidly and unless you have plenty of space can become a bit of a menace, in lighter soils their spread is limited and in very dry summers they can die. Most people grow their mints in containers and in the first year they are usually gorgeous and lush, it is in the second year when they emerge again in spring that the leaves are tiny and grow mostly around the edges of the container. This is because they grow so fast that the roots have filled the container completely and though addition feeding helps, there is just not enough oomph left in the soil to support a vigorous plant. The roots of lemon mint tends to be more fragile and not quite as invasive as some other mints and in spring it can re-invigorated by tipping it from its pot and taking about a third of the root ball away, before replanting it back in the container with fresh compost.
Usage
A soft leaved slightly straggly mint that will trail in pots and containers, lemon mint has a fresh gentle flavour that is particularly good in summer dishes of all kinds. It can be made into a lovely syrup to pour over ice cream, with fresh fruit like raspberries, in drinks, cocktails and salads and makes a subtly refreshing tea that can be chilled and served with ice. The flowers that grow along the stems are attractive to bees and pollinating insects.