Pineapple mint should be able to overwinter outside in a pot in your zone, especially if in a southern exposure and with some protection from wind.

I have never had much luck with chocolate mint, and my ginger mint disappeared after I left it out one winter, but I do not have full sun.

Your herbs look very happy in their pots.

Apple, chocolate, spearmint, and peppermint survive just fine through the winters for me. But then I don't have them in pots above ground either. So the fact that you are growing in pots may have an effect on their hardiness.

Rodney

eibren,

Can i ask if these are potted plants that you had?

I face south and am about 10 floors up. I get full unimpeded sun from 11:30am - 6:00pm. I could protect them from the wind, but at the sacrifice of some light.

Here is the pineapple mint (for each response I will post a picture):

Rodney,

Thanx! I've been cutting the runners that appear atop the soil in hopes that they will grow into roots beneith the soil.

Here is the chocolate mint:

This post was edited by bedtime on Wed, Jul 9, 14 at 12:11

Yes, BT, the herbs I lost were all in fairly large pots, on the ground outside, with a northwest exposure. The pot my pineapple mint was in was probably a bit smaller than yours, with a southern exposure with about a five foot bank rising just behind it, surrounded by shrubs that broke the wind. Possibly your balcony would stay warm enough and be adequately protected from the wind since it faces south?

My pineapple mint was the variegated kind, with white spots. It goes very well with pineapple sage in teas. Pineapple sage is a tender perennial, but it can become enormous in just one summer, and has pretty red flowers.

eibren,

I'm wondering now if bringing them indoors would be a better option for winter; at this height there is an abundance of wind as there are no structures to stop it; as well, no way to keep it warm; either it's in freezing weather or in 20C inside.

Ginger Mint:

You can always root some cuttings and keep those inside over winter while leaving the big plants outside. That way if the big plants don't survive the winter you'll have backups.

Rodney

Rodney's idea is a good one. It would be easier to keep rooted cuttings alive, imo. I have never had much luck bringing herbs in for the winter.

How cold does it get in winter where you are? Could you rig up some sort of insulated jacket for the pots? A box of leaves, bubble wrap or packing peanuts or something? The mints will be dormant so light is not that important. You could uncover them for a breather on mild days.

Rodney,

I might think about doing that.

Peppermint:

eibren,

I've been thinking about it and I think I will not make the backup plants indoors from cuttings; as for the reason: If the outdoor plants do not fair well it is not very sensible to try growing new ones of the failed ones outdoors. I've already tried them indoors and have seen the results.

Pineapple Mint:

FloralUk,

This is what I am going to do and thank you for the suggestion. I could put all the plants in my giant rubbermaid containers and insulate them from the ground and all sides. I like the breather idea too! Perhaps at times during the day i could opening the lid for sime air. The temp can dip to a low of about -25C (-13F) on the coldest days.

Ginger Mint (flower):

Your plans sound good--but to clarify, there is a difference between rooting and overwintering cuttings, which have the vigor of a new plant, and trying to overwinter full grown ones that are used to the outdoors.

I personally would probably take a few cuttings and just let them sit in some water to root through the winter, changing the water periodically. That way you bring a bit of green indoors, but not whole plants that dry up and drop their leaves. For some reason colored glass (I first noticed this with a green one) seems to work better for rooting.

eibren,

This is doable! I like the idea of having a few cuttings in water to have the appearance of life inside during the winter. I will do this.

On a side note, might get rid of Ginger Mint. Don't much like the taste, slow growth rate, and inability to cut flowers easily.

...

Chocolate Mint soil and roots; been cutting runners; several by the day!

Have you thought about buying a small greenhouse kit for your balcony? You could add other herbs... Etc as well. They come in all sizes. Some made specifically for apt living.

i have the blue mint and chocolate mint in pots. i just bury them flush with the ground in my garden just before the soil freezes. mulch with 3in of straw once the plants go dormant. in spring, once the snow melts and it warms into the 60's i remove the straw, the roots spout new growth . in a few weeks your plant is right back to full vigor. just pull the pots out of the ground once it stays above freezing at night. I'm in zone 3b.