How to Grow Spearmint

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
  2. Soil & Growing Conditions
  3. Growth Stages
  4. Quick Facts
  5. At a Glance
  6. Harvest & Storage
  7. Diseases
  8. Pests
  9. Spearmint, a Vigorous Spreading Herb
  10. Plan your Spearmint planting
  11. Growing Spearmint in another region
  12. Sources
  13. Frequently Asked Questions

Spearmint (Mentha spicata) — perennial.

Unlike an annual crop, the work here is front-loaded into establishment: get the planting and the site right and the same plants crop for several seasons.

The short answer

Site
soil pH 5.5–6.5
Biggest risk
Powdery mildew

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Spearmint (Mentha spicata)

A dense mat of spearmint leaves — “Mentha spicata L.” by Assianir is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

7 sources cited · Verified

Soil & Growing Conditions

A mass planting of spearmint — “Mentha spicata Jammu India” by Vikramaadityasumbria is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Mentha spicata Jammu India” by Vikramaadityasumbria is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Soil pH range

5.5 6.5

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Growth Stages

A dense mat of spearmint leaves — “Mentha spicata L.” by Assianir is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Mentha spicata L.” by Assianir is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Propagation 0 Propagate by seed or division in spring or autumn; water newly planted mint until established (RHS).
Vigorous spread 3 Spreads vigorously by rhizome, potentially becoming a nuisance in damp soil unless contained (RHS).
Flowering 6 Flowers, after which plants are cut back to 5cm from the base (RHS).
Mature clump 9 Reaches full maturity over 2-5 years, 0.5-1m in height and 1-1.5m spread (RHS).

Quick Facts

Close-up of a spearmint leaf — “JfSwissMint8037Menthaspicatafvf 03” by Judgefloro is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“JfSwissMint8037Menthaspicatafvf 03” by Judgefloro is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Soil pH 5.5 - 6.5
Optimal growing temp 15-25°C
Minimum survivable temp -8°C
Drainage Moist but well-drained (tolerates poorly-drained)
Lifecycle perennial
Edible parts leaves

At a Glance

A mass planting of spearmint — “Mentha spicata Jammu India” by Vikramaadityasumbria is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Mentha spicata Jammu India” by Vikramaadityasumbria is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Mentha spicata Spearmint Powdery mildew Mint rust Sage leafhopper (leafho… Blue mint beetle Caterpillars DISEASES PESTS

Harvest & Storage

Close-up of a spearmint leaf — “JfSwissMint8037Menthaspicatafvf 03” by Judgefloro is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“JfSwissMint8037Menthaspicatafvf 03” by Judgefloro is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: RHS: "Harvest young sprigs regularly to encourage bushy growth" and "cut back to 5cm from the base after flowering". UMD: fresh leaves harvested "at any time"; for drying, "best to cut leaves just as flowering begins".

Storage

Best used fresh; can be dried at flowering stage

Diseases

Spearmint growing in a labelled garden bed — “Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens, Spearmint” by Michael Rivera is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens, Spearmint” by Michael Rivera is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Mint rust
low

RHS names this directly.

Pests

A dense mat of spearmint leaves — “Mentha spicata L.” by Assianir is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Mentha spicata L.” by Assianir is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Sage leafhopper (leafhoppers)

Eupteryx spp.

RHS spearmint plant page: "May be susceptible to sage leafhopper, blue mint beetle and caterpillars."

Blue mint beetle

Chrysolina coerulans

RHS spearmint plant page names blue mint beetle among susceptible pests.

Caterpillars

Lepidoptera larvae

RHS spearmint plant page names caterpillars among susceptible pests.

Plan your Spearmint planting

Timing for Spearmint follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Spearmint in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

These 2 sources are specific to this region. The full list of 7 sources behind this guide (FAO EcoCrop, GBIF, NC State Extension and others) is in the references of our UK guide to spearmint; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What soil pH does spearmint need?

A pH of about 5.5–6.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.

What problems affect spearmint?

Our data links 2 diseases and 3 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.

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SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against international horticultural research and extension sources. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

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Last verified 2026-09-02

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