Deer Resistant

Chocolate mint is as chocolatey, minty and scrumptious as it sounds. You can bake it in cakes, add sprigs to mojitos, and even use it in your beauty recipes. But more on that later. You won’t regret picking up this herb at your local farmers market. When the sun warms its leaves, your garden will smell just like a peppermint patty. Yum! Get a plant now and enjoy chocolate mint goodness all summer long.

Tips for Growing Chocolate Mint:

Keep your chocolate mint in mint condition with a little gardening know-how.

1. Find the perfect location
Chocolate mint prefers cool temperatures. It needs sun, but doesn’t like extreme heat. Look for the sweet spot for growing chocolate mint: An area that gets a few hours of morning sun, but stays shady in the afternoon.

2. Tend to it every so often
Chocolate mint doesn’t need a lot of fuss. It mainly just likes its soil to stay moist. Water your chocolate mint regularly to keep it happy. Your plant will likely survive a few dry spells, but don’t let it dry out too often. Other than that, just let it grow!

3. Contain it—or watch out

Chocolate mint grows like a weed. It spreads quickly, forming creeping underground root systems and taking over your garden. Keep your chocolate mint in containers to prevent it from spreading. If you do want to plant your chocolate mint straight in the ground, use this method to keep it from taking over: Place the chocolate mint in a deep bottomless container and set the plant (container and all) into the ground. This will keep its roots from overrunning neighboring plants.4. Regrow from cuttings
With mint, you definitely get your money’s worth. Chocolate mint will grow from cuttings from your original plant. Just snip off a stem and set the cutting in a pot of soil to regrow. (These regrown chocolate mint plans make sweet gifts.)

5. Get ready for next year