Oregon · Washington · Idaho

When to plant mint

Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle Mar 15 – May 10; Spokane Apr 15 – Jun 10; Boise Apr 1 – May 27; Bend May 12 – Jul 7.

Mint is a hardy perennial herb grown for its cool, aromatic leaves, used in tea, drinks, salads and Middle Eastern and Vietnamese dishes. Spearmint is the sweeter cooking mint, peppermint is stronger and used for tea and candy, and there are many flavored kinds. Washington, Oregon and Idaho grow most of the country's mint for oil.

Add to my garden plan

Puts mint on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.

Difficulty: Easy
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Spacing: One plant per pot, or 18 inches apart
Planting depth: Plant at the depth it grew in the nursery pot
Frost: Handles light frost
First harvest: Pick lightly the first summer, then as much as you like

Spreads aggressively by underground runners, so grow it in a pot or a bottomless bucket sunk in the ground.

Mint planting dates

Towns	Plant in the garden
Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA	Mar 15 – May 10
Spokane, WA	Apr 15 – Jun 10
Boise and Meridian, ID, Astoria, OR	Apr 1 – May 27
Bend and Redmond, OR	May 12 – Jul 7

Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.

Gresham, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR	Mar 15 – May 10
Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR	Mar 19 – May 14

Corvallis and Albany, OR, Eugene, OR, Salem, OR	Mar 15 – May 10
Cottage Grove, OR	Mar 27 – May 22
McMinnville and Newberg, OR	Mar 18 – May 13

Ashland and Talent, OR	Apr 8 – Jun 3
Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR	Mar 15 – May 10

Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR	Apr 1 – May 27

Bend and Redmond, OR, Klamath Falls, OR	May 12 – Jul 7
Burns, OR	May 14 – Jul 9
Lakeview, OR	May 7 – Jul 2
Madras, OR	Apr 21 – Jun 16
Prineville, OR	May 4 – Jun 29

Baker City, OR	Apr 27 – Jun 22
Enterprise and Joseph, OR	Apr 26 – Jun 21
Hermiston, OR, Hood River, OR, Ontario, OR, Pendleton, OR, The Dalles, OR	Apr 1 – May 27
John Day, OR	Apr 30 – Jun 25
La Grande, OR	Apr 15 – Jun 10

Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA	Mar 15 – May 10
Olympia, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Shelton, WA	Mar 30 – May 25

Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA	Mar 15 – May 10

Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA	Mar 15 – May 10
Sequim, WA	Mar 24 – May 19

Centralia and Chehalis, WA	Mar 25 – May 20
Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA	Mar 15 – May 10

Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Leavenworth, WA, Omak and Okanogan, WA	Apr 15 – Jun 10
Winthrop and Twisp, WA	Apr 17 – Jun 12

Ellensburg, WA	Apr 15 – Jun 10
Ephrata and Quincy, WA, Moses Lake, WA, Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA, Walla Walla, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Goldendale, WA	Apr 21 – Jun 16
Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA	Apr 3 – May 29
Yakima, WA	Apr 10 – Jun 5

Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA	Apr 15 – Jun 10

Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID	Apr 15 – Jun 10

Lewiston, ID	Apr 1 – May 27
Moscow, ID	Apr 15 – Jun 10

Boise and Meridian, ID, Nampa and Caldwell, ID	Apr 1 – May 27
Emmett, ID	Apr 2 – May 28
McCall, ID	May 25 – Jul 20

Burley and Rupert, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Rexburg, ID, Twin Falls, ID	Apr 15 – Jun 10
Salmon, ID	Apr 19 – Jun 14

Mint year at a glance

Task	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O
Plant	Mar	Apr	May
Harvest		Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
In bloom					Jul	Aug

Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates.

How to grow mint

Pick a sunny spot with soil that drains well, and mix in an inch or two of compost.
Plant young mint plants on your city's dates, One plant per pot, or 18 inches apart. Plant at the depth it grew in the nursery pot.
Water regularly; mint likes moist soil. Cut it back hard in midsummer for a fresh flush of leaves.
Harvest: Snip stems just above a pair of leaves. Regular cutting keeps plants bushy.

Growing mint in your part of the Northwest

The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.

West-side valleys

Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon

Mint spreads aggressively in moist west-side soil, so grow it in a pot or a bed with buried edging. Mint rust shows as orange spots; cut back affected stems.

East of the Cascades

Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho

Mint likes some afternoon shade and steady water in hot summers.

More mint varieties

More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.

Spearmint

Mentha spicata

The classic sweet, mild mint for tea, sauces and salads. Vigorous and fully hardy, so grow it in a pot to keep it contained.

Both sides

Peppermint

Mentha x piperita

Strong, cool menthol flavor ideal for tea and desserts. Hardy and easy, though it spreads quickly in moist soil. Keep it in a container.

Both sides

Mojito mint

Mentha x villosa

The mint traditionally used in Cuban mojitos, with mild, sweet, citrusy flavor. Large, soft leaves bruise easily for drinks. Grow it in a pot like other mints.

Both sides

Chocolate mint

Peppermint type

A peppermint with bronze-green leaves and a light hint of chocolate. Popular for desserts and tea, and it spreads just as readily as other mints.

Both sides

Apple mint

Mentha suaveolens

Fuzzy, rounded leaves with a mild, fruity flavor. Tall and vigorous, it tolerates wet soil and makes a gentle tea.

Both sides

Kentucky Colonel

Spearmint type

A spearmint selection with large leaves and sweet flavor, prized for mint juleps and iced tea. Vigorous and hardy. Contain it in a pot.

Both sides

How much to grow

How many to plant

One plant in a pot is plenty for most households. Grow different mints in separate pots.

What to expect

A handful a week from a healthy pot, more if you cut it back often.

Storing the harvest

Stems in a glass of water in the fridge for a week. Dry leaves for tea, or freeze in ice cubes.

Key numbers

Underground rhizomesSpreads by
Unreliable flavorFrom seed
6.0–7.0Soil pH
Sun to part shadeLight
Just before floweringBest flavor
Every few yearsDivide

Top care tip: Cut it back hard in midsummer for a fresh flush of tender leaves.

The plant science

The plant biology behind the advice above, in plain language.

Why mint takes over

Mint spreads by underground stems called rhizomes, plus runners above ground. Each piece can root and start a new plant, so it quickly spreads through a bed. Grow it in a container, or sink a bottomless pot or bucket into the ground with the rim a couple of inches above the soil, and trim runners that creep over the edge.

Growing from seed doesn't work well

Peppermint is a natural hybrid between watermint and spearmint and rarely produces viable seed. Many mint seed packets produce plants with weak or unpredictable flavor. Buy plants or take cuttings from a mint whose smell and taste you like. Cuttings root easily in water.

Flavor

Peppermint's cool bite comes mainly from menthol; spearmint's sweeter flavor comes from carvone. Plants grown in full sun and harvested just before flowering have the most oil. Oregon and Washington, especially the Willamette Valley and the Columbia Basin, grow a large share of the country's peppermint oil.

Soil and water

Mint likes moist, fertile soil with a pH of about 6.0 to 7.0 and grows in sun or part shade. Containers dry out fast in summer, so water them often. Cut plants back hard in midsummer for a fresh flush of tender leaves.

Mint rust and other problems

Mint rust causes orange pustules on the undersides of leaves. Cut infected stems to the ground and throw them out, which removes the spores. Over the years, the center of a clump tends to die out. Divide and replant the healthy outer pieces every few years in fresh soil.

Good neighbors

A pot of its own. Mint spreads by underground runners and overruns other plants.

Keep apart

Open garden beds. It takes over within a year or two and is hard to dig out.

Pests and problems

What most often goes wrong with mint in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.

Mint rust

Signs: Orange spots under the leaves in spring.

What to do: Cut plants to the ground and throw away the cuttings; clean regrowth follows.

Spreading

Signs: Runners pop up in nearby beds.

What to do: Keep the pot off the soil, and trim runners that hang over the edge.

Woody, tired pots

Signs: Fewer leaves after two or three years.

What to do: Repot a few rooted pieces into fresh mix in spring.

Common questions about growing mint

When should I plant mint in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?

Plant in the garden: Mar 15 – May 10 in Portland and Seattle, Apr 15 – Jun 10 in Spokane, Apr 1 – May 27 in Boise and May 12 – Jul 7 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.

Can I grow mint from seed?

Not reliably. Peppermint rarely makes viable seed, and many seed-grown mints have weak flavor. Buy a plant you've smelled or tasted, or root a cutting in water.

What are the orange spots on my mint?

Mint rust, a fungal disease. Cut the plant to the ground, throw out the clippings, and let it regrow. Good airflow and watering at the base help.

How do I stop mint from spreading?

Grow it in a pot, or in a bottomless container sunk into the ground with the rim a couple of inches above the soil. Trim any runners that grow over the edge.

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