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How to Grow Spearmints UK | Regional Planting Calendar
Move through the SoilCommander growing library like a course: keep the navigation in place, open the next lesson, and build your garden plan step by step.
In the UK, spearmints go in the ground early March to early April.
Spearmints (Mentha spicata) — perennial.
Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: there are 4 separate regional sowing windows, ranging from early March in Southern England to early March in Scotland.
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural and university-extension sources — see References.
RHS recommends propagation by seed or division in spring or autumn; a single spring window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.
Midlands - detail & sources
RHS recommends propagation by seed or division in spring or autumn; a single spring window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.
Northern England - detail & sources
RHS recommends propagation by seed or division in spring or autumn; a single spring window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.
Scotland - detail & sources
RHS recommends propagation by seed or division in spring or autumn; a single spring window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since RHS gives no UK-region-specific gradient.
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".
7 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I sow spearmints in the UK?
In Southern England, from early March. In Scotland, wait until early March. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to sow only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.
When do I sow spearmints?
Sow early March to early April.
What soil pH do spearmints 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 spearmints?
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
Most of the advice on this page comes down to timing and spacing — sowing at the right moment, rotating beds, and giving plants enough airflow. The UK Garden Planner lays your plot out month by month so those decisions are already made before the season starts.
UK vegetable growing guides · Checked against RHS & Met Office guidance
Every SoilCommander guide is written and maintained by our editorial team for real UK growing conditions, and reviewed against Royal Horticultural Society growing advice and Met Office climate data before publication.
Sketch your exact plot shape, pick your UK crops, and get a spacing-accurate bed layout with companion pairings, a rotation plan and month-by-month sowing dates — every fact sourced from RHS and Garden Organic.
