How mint reproduces by seeds and root cuttings

Garden mint is familiar to everyone, regardless of whether they have their own garden. This plant is used for medicinal purposes, as a seasoning for various dishes, as a base for soft drinks and cocktails, as a perfume and cosmetic component. The culture is divided into varieties that differ in taste and aroma. Peppermint is the most popular and ubiquitous. She feels great in open ground, under film cover and on the windowsill. You just need to know how to propagate and care for mint.

Features of propagation of peppermint

There are several ways to propagate mint with certain pros and cons:

sowing seeds;
cutting;
dividing the mother bush.

Peppermint is most difficult to grow from seed, which is why gardeners tend to cut or divide the bush.

Difficulties in seed propagation are poor germination.

Seed propagation

Peppermint is planted in a warm, sunny spot. During the dry period, plants need shading. When growing indoors, place pots or boxes in windows facing southwest or east to provide at least four hours of light.

Seed propagation is recommended for experienced gardeners or those who are not afraid of difficulties.Landing is carried out in this way: the container is filled with soil, which must be slightly moistened. Seeds deepen by half a centimeter. The containers are covered with glass or polyethylene and placed in a room with a temperature of +24 degrees. Landings need to be ventilated and moistened.

Shoots appear in one to two weeks. Stronger plants are transplanted one at a time and sent for adaptation to a cooler place, if further cultivation on the street is foreseen. Landing in open ground is possible after 7-10 days. Due to the active growth of the root system, seedlings are located at a distance from each other. Seed-grown mint is slow growing compared to vegetative propagation methods.

The positive thing is the long period of softness and tenderness of the leaves and stems.

Root layers

The long roots of mint are strewn with sleeping buds, from which new shoots and bushes appear.This feature of the plant makes it possible to propagate with the help of root layers, which are stored in late summer - early autumn. A few cuttings 10 cm long are enough. Root shoots are placed in moist soil to a depth of 5 cm.

Rooting cuttings and leaves

Reproduction of peppermint by cuttings will not cause problems for a novice gardener. This method is simple to implement. In addition, further cultivation and care will require a minimum of attention. Optimal time for disembarkation: end of April - beginning of May. A ten-centimeter piece of the stem with an ovary of leaves is cut from the bush. The branch is placed in clean water for a week. During this time, she will give the roots, which must be constantly in the water. When the roots reach 2-3 cm, you can transplant plants into ridges or into pots at home.

Despite the resistance of mint to adverse weather conditions, it is preferable to wait until the end of spring frosts.

Sprouted branches are planted in the ground with a depth of 5 cm and an interval of 15 cm, which is necessary for the bushes for normal development. It is desirable to plant in a place open to the sun in the morning and afternoon hours. In advance, you need to prepare the soil by removing weeds and rhizomes with simultaneous loosening. High ridges are equipped in damp places, in dry places a deepening is necessary.

Dividing the mother bush

The easiest way to propagate is to cut a dug up mint bush into pieces and plant it in the soil. An important condition is the presence of buds or shoots on each delenka. The aerial part of the daughter plant is cut off, which stimulates the rooting process. Planting is carried out in holes 10 cm deep at a distance of 30 cm. It is recommended that humus be applied to each hole before planting. After a couple of weeks, the plantings are covered with young foliage, this indicates the normal development of the bush, which will need top dressing with urea (1-2 g per liter of water).

Do not forget about the aggressiveness of a culture that can grow over large areas, crowding out other plants and shrubs. To avoid this, they arrange a limiter: they dig in iron plates or pieces of slate to the depth of the rhizomes along the perimeter of the plantings. An effective way is to plant mint in a bulk container: an old bucket, basin, bath, which are dug into the ground. This option will secure neighboring crops.

Growing features:

It is preferable to plant mint in place of legumes and root crops. Ridges are suitable after harvesting melons and buckwheat, which enrich the soil with calcium, which is necessary for the successful development and growth of peppermint.
Planting should be avoided next to crops that require treatment with pesticides that render mint unfit for consumption.
Culture prefers light fertile soils, loamy and sandy.
Wetlands are detrimental to these plants. Drying out of the soil can be avoided by mulching.
Regular fertilizing with organic, phosphate and nitrogen fertilizers is welcome.
Loosening is carried out twice a year.

Mint will respond to care with its luxurious appearance and inimitable aroma. Harvesting is carried out from the first year of planting at the beginning of flowering. Dry the leaves in a shaded, ventilated place. Dry products are wiped or placed entirely in paper bags or glass jars with lids. To stock up on a fragrant and he althy crop for the future, it is not necessary to have the appropriate experience, a lot of time and finances.