Mints

[helwen]

Anyone know how easily mints hybridize? I know, I know, I should try to look it up... but if anyone happens to know, that would be super....

I have a whole bunch of plants from the Mint family, some of which I know _won't_ cross, but not sure about the others...Peppermint, Chocolate Mint, Catmint, and Lemon Balm.

The ones I don't worry about are the Lavendar, Rosemary, and Horehound.

Comments

[oakmouse]

My experience, having grown all of those in the same garden, is that chocolate mint and peppermint or spearmint can hybridize with one another if they're too close together; I grew them 6 feet apart the first time and they hybridized, but when I grew them on opposite sides of the house, some 40 feet apart with the bulk of the house between them, they didn't. The others are fine.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad we aren't too near the brook too, as the brook mint is likely too similar to them as well -- the brook mint may be a descendent of peppermint, from when peppermint oil was briefly an export of Ashfield.

Huh. I forgot to list Oregano in my post, but that's pretty self-contained too (as far as hybridizing with the others).

Thank goodness the lower garden is on the other side of the house from the south gardens... I have to keep the two kinds of Dill separate as well.

[oakmouse]

Welcome!

Oregano is fine unless you put it too close to marjoram. That's another pair I separate by at least 10 feet and preferably more like 20. They don't always hybridize, but I haven't figured out yet which cultivars will and which won't so I separate them to avoid the problem. Because I like oregano, and I like marjoram, but I don't like the hybrid which tastes halfway between the two, and it's not as good for muscle pain as true marjoram either.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Ooo, thank you for writing this! Hm, my kitchen/medicinal garden is getting a wee bit more complicated... narf. Hm... I think can do 20 feet and keep those two in the same garden...

I have a garden plan forming in my head (for the future), but this was one of the things I hadn't included in it. Going to make a note in the document about this. Thank you!

[oakmouse]

You're welcome!