I love Chocolate Mint

I love having the chocolate mint for tea, coffee and wine. I have made a gallon of chocolate mint wine in years past and loved it! I put it in coffee and use it in herbal tea. However, It has its good side and its bad side.

Today I released my chocolate mint into the ground in the back yard for the winter. I wasn't sure it would survive our winter in a pot and just didn't want to use the space to grow it indoors all winter. I know it will survive here in the ground. Its very hardy! 

Its also very invasive. As a matter of fact, it had runners growing around and around the root ball inside the big pot. Scary! If it had been in the ground all summer, it would have spread over a large area. I have had that happen with chocolate mint before. One summer I nearly lost my entire large herb garden! 

So, I kept it in a pot all summer. I feel bad for the poor thing now that I see all those runners. I am considering letting it go wild in my wild woodland back yard next summer, but I think I might regret it in years to come, as I pull out pieces of it everywhere, so...maybe not. 

I did take some cuttings and brought them inside to start new plants, just in case. I think I will always grow it in a container, but maybe a larger one next year.


I'll make up my mind before spring comes next year but I think its going into a large planter or a tall and deep container garden. I could plant lemon balm with it and just let them battle it out. That might be interesting. I don't usually grow lemon balm as I prefer to grow lemon verbena for my "lemon" herb, but I might...maybe.