Mentha longifolia

Grow Plants / Growing instruction / Mentha longifolia

Mentha longifolia grow and care – herbaceous of the genus Mentha also known as Horse Mint, Mentha longifolia perennial evergreen plant, grow for the edible leaves, the leaves fragrant and the plant can be used as medical, ornamental plant as groundcover and it’s attract pollinators, can grow in mediterranean, subtropical or temperate climate and growing in hardiness zone 5-10a and with the right care in hardiness zone 10b-11a.

Mentha longifolia Plants, Seeds & Supplies for Sale

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Arabian Mint Seeds (Mentha longifolia) Packet of 20 Seeds

Arabian Mint Seeds (Mentha longifolia) Packet of 20 SeedsCheck Price on Amazon

Don’t see the exact variety you’re looking for?

Explore all live Mentha longifolia plants, pots, and starter kits on Amazon ↗

Mentha longifolia edible leaves

Leaves color green oval with secreted edges size can 5-10 cm the leaves have strong odor.

Flower color purple, pink or white, the flowers grow on the stem in inflorescence.

Mentha longifolia for sale – Seeds or Plants to Buy

How to grow Mentha longifolia growing and care:

Rich soil, moist soil, well-drained soil,

How to care:
Add fertilize at least once a year with high content of nitrogen, (nitrogen for the plant more for growth and less for blooming)

What is the best way to start growing?
Plant / Seed / Vegetative Reproduction

How to propagate:
Propagating by bending a branch over and covering it with soil, stolons after grow few leaves possible to separate from the mother plant and increase the amount of water in the first days.

Start by cutting possible in water, put the stem in water and switch the water every few days or put the stem in soil, keep the soil moist in both cutting methods better to do it spring season, keep high humidity and spray the plant with water.

Is it necessary to use vegetative reproduction?
No, easier to start from cutting or bending a branch over and covering it with soil than to start by seeds

Difficulties or problems when growing:
Aggressive

Planting season:
Spring in hardiness zone 5-8, spring to summer in hardiness zone 9, spring to autumn in hardiness zone 10a and all year in hardiness zone 10b-11a

How to plant:
Dig hole bigger than the plant put some organic matter and mix it with the soil, cover the soil lightly

Pests and diseases:
Aphids, spider mites, thrips

Pruning season:
Possible all the year, better in the autumn to winter, and blooming stems all season

How to prune:
Pruning need to be aggressive, cut the stem ~5cm (2 inches) and every stems that start to bloom better to prune before it blooms, old branch and dead parts, also to pull out dead plants and reduce the amount of plant, because the growing area is limit after few years the plant growth too much crowded it’s reduce the size of the leaves

Size of the plant:
0.5-1 m, 20-40 inches

Growth speed in optimal condition:
Fast growing

Water requirement:
Average amount of water / Big amount of water

Light conditions in optimal condition for growing:
Full Sun / Half Shade, almost full sun to 0.75 full sun, because when the plant expose to a lot of sun the plant bloom it’s good for attract pollination but it’s harder for harvesting the leaves and use them, the leaves smaller and less leaves on stem

Is it possible to grow indoor as houseplant?
No, possible to grow it on the windows with direct sun

Growing is also possible in a pots, planter, flowerpot or containers:
Yes, when grow in container, size 8-18 liter (2-5 gallon) bigger is better and need to be shallow and wide, every year better to cut all the roots and part of the plant also to reduce the amount of plants, the plants grow fast and without reduction of the roots and the amount of plant the plant might die, every two years to switch soil in the pot don’t let the soil be rotten possible to switch just part of the soil, soil need to be well ventilated with good drainage, rich with organic matter, can us in potting mix or peat soil with perlite or vermiculite, average amount of water and better to keep the soil lightly moist

Blooming information

Bloom season:
Summer (and in warmer climate in late spring to early autumn)

General information about the flower
Purple, pink or white flowers grow on the stem in inflorescence

Pollination is done by:
Bees and attract pollinators

Thinning the bloom:
Recommend to thinning the blossom, when the plant bloom it’s harder to harvest the leaves and the leaves in lower quality

Edible leaves

Leaves harvesting season:
Spring to summer in hardiness zone 5-9, spring to autumn in hardiness zone 10a, all year in hardiness zone in hardiness zone 10b-11a

How to harvest the leaves?
Cut with the stem few centimeter from the ground or the divided of the stem

Information about leaves:
Green oval leaves with serrated edges with strong odor

Uses of Mentha longifolia leaves:
Beverage, salad

How to grow Mentha longifolia from seeds

Sowing requirement:
Full sun, moist soil and humidity

Saving seeds and care until sowing:
Cool and dry location

Sowing season:
Spring to summer and it’s better to sow in temperatures 20-26C (68-79F)

Planting spacing:
4*5 cm, (1.4*2 inches) when transplant it to bigger pots in the 5-7 leaves

Depth of Sowing:
2-3mm

Conditions for seeds germinate:
Moist soil, full sun

Watering requires for Seeds:
Average amount of water and keep the soil moist

Germination time:
2-8 weeks

Condition of seedling:
Lightly moist soil with medium humidity, full sun (the seedling attract a lot of pets)

Scientific name:

Mentha longifolia

Categories

Blooming Seasons	Summer flowers
Edible Parts	Edible leaves
Culinary uses	Beverage Herbs Salad
Flower colors	Pink flower Purple flower White flower
Climate	Mediterranean Climate Subtropics Climate Temperate Climate
Harvest Season	Autumn Harvest Spring Harvest Summer Harvest Winter harvest
Ornamental parts	Ornamental leaves Ornamental plant
Plant growing speed	Average growing plants Fast growing plants
Plant life-form	Evergreen Perennial plant Shrub
Plant Uses	Edible plants Fragrance Ground cover plants Ornamental plants
Planting Season	Autumn Planting Spring Planting Summer planting
Plants sun exposure	Full sun Plants Part shade Plants
Watering plants	Big amount of water Regularly water
Hardiness zone	Hardiness zone 10 Hardiness zone 11 Hardiness zone 9

Growing in Pots, Balconies & Indoors

Mentha longifolia (horse mint) is a tall, aromatic culinary and medicinal mint. A pot is the sensible way to grow it, keeping its vigorous roots contained. The grower does not rate it as a deep-room houseplant, but it grows well at a sunny window.

Quick Details

Container Size: 8-18 L (2-5 gal), the bigger the better; a shallow, wide pot suits it (grower’s value)
Indoor Suitability: Not a deep-indoor houseplant, but grows well at a sunny window with direct light
Best Spot: Nearly full sun to part shade – a bit of shade keeps leaves large and delays flowering
Soil & Drainage: Rich, well-drained, well-aerated mix kept lightly moist
Watering in Pots: Keep the mix lightly and evenly moist – mint likes a fair amount of water; never bone dry

Indoors & On the Windowsill

Houseplant limits / a window herb: The grower marks it as not a deep-room houseplant but notes it can be grown at a window with direct sun – so give it the sunniest sill; in dim light it grows thin and pale.
Windowsill growing: One of the easiest herbs at a bright window; harvest often and pinch out flower stems to keep the leaves coming. It also roots readily in water from a cutting.
Overwintering: Hardy in most climates, but a pot is easily kept on a bright sill through a cold winter for fresh leaves.

On a Balcony or Patio

Light, wind & heat: It is happy on a balcony or patio in good light. Pots dry quickly because walls and paving reflect heat, so check them often in warm spells; shelter tall stems from wind and mind the pot weight and drainage runoff.
Practicalities: A wide, shallow 8-18 L pot on a bright balcony is ideal; a container also keeps this vigorous spreader from taking over.

Choosing the Pot, Soil & Long-Term Care

Pot & drainage: A wide, shallow 8-18 L pot with good drainage holes; empty any standing saucer so the roots never sit in water and rot.
Pot material: Terracotta breathes and dries quickly (handy for sun-loving Mediterranean plants); glazed or plastic pots hold moisture longer.
Potting mix: Rich, well-aerated mix – a good potting mix, or peat/coir blended with perlite or vermiculite and some organic matter; keep it lightly moist.
Feeding: Potted plants use up nutrients faster because watering leaches them out, so feed a little more often than plants in open ground – mint responds to a nitrogen-rich feed for leafy growth.
Repotting / renewal: The grower switches part of the soil every two years so it does not turn sour.

Grower’s Container Tip

Hard-cut it every year: Because mint spreads fast and gets crowded, the grower cuts back all the roots and part of the plant each year (and thins the number of stems). Without this reduction the pot can decline and the plant may die – so an annual hard cut, plus renewing part of the soil every two years, keeps it vigorous.

Bloom & Edible Flower Guide

Quick Details

Bloom Season: Summer, and from late spring into early autumn in warmer climates
Flower Appearance: Small purple, pink or white flowers packed along the stems in slender inflorescences
Edibility: Flower is edible — horse mint blossoms carry the same aromatic, minty flavour as the leaves

Detailed Blooming Overview

Horse mint sends up its spikes of small purple-to-white flowers in summer, and they are a magnet for bees. For a leaf harvest, though, flowering is a mixed blessing: once the plant blooms the leaves get tougher and drop in quality, so many growers pinch the flower spikes out. The flowers themselves are perfectly edible, sharing the leaves’ minty scent.

Flower Characteristics

Small flowers in purple, pink or white.
Arranged in slender inflorescences along the stems.

Bloom Care & Thinning

Pollination: Worked by bees and a wide range of pollinators it draws in.
Thinning the bloom: For the best leaves, remove the flower spikes as they form — blooming makes harvesting harder and lowers leaf quality; leave some to flower if you want to feed pollinators.

Related Plants