Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Wednesday - March 30, 2005
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Invasive Plants, Problem Plants
Title: Removal of invasive mints
Answered by: Nan Hampton and Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
How do I remove common mint from my garden? I removed the previous years plants and tilled the soil. This year they came back more than before.ANSWER:
Mints are very invasive. They spread by putting out shoots from the roots or underground stems. Sorry to have to tell you this, but the way to get rid of them is to dig or pull them up. To completely eliminate them you need to get the roots out of the ground. it will take a while, but if you are persistent you can remove them all. However, if you would like to keep a few mints around, you can grow them in containers or plant them in large sunken pots in the ground to keep them from spreading where you don't want them.
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