Last year I planted chocolate mint in the spring and it struggled to live through out the summer and I thought it would not make it but come winter it not only lived it multiplied and got out of hand fast this spring.
So I'd wait it out and by next year yours may do the same.

Perennials:

First Year Sleep.

Second Year Creep.

Third Year Leap.

And boy does it LEAP!! :) Get out now while maybe can..might be too late, but worth a try. Or put it into a pot to keep it from taking over your yard, your house, the house down the street....lol

If it acts like mine did, you will be glad of the warning.

Do you know what variety of mint it is? Last year, I planted Eau de Cologne mint (actually smells like mens cologne!) and this year, according to Syvlia's fun motto, it's creeping instead of leaping. Which is certainly a good thing!

Believe me, once you have an experience with mint overtaking your garden, you will find it humorous that you ever complained about it not growing vigorously!

Good luck. Let me know what variety it is and where it is planted.

Callie
Xylem & Phloem

Here is a link that might be useful: Xylem & Phloem Texas Garden Blog

The only way to safley grow mints are in pots! I have been pulling out runners from my iris bed for 5 years after planting mint 1 season!

If you can't grow mint, consider yourself lucky!
Jim

I had mint "jump" outta a pot and try to take over! I can't grow Salvia Coccinea (tropical sage)!(Same family) I was waiting for this invasive plant to take over and it all died! PJ

so it starts looking lousy after a bit; it eats up all the fertilizer in the soil and starves itself.
Chop out a chunk and fill the section with fresh soil. It will start looking good again and you can repot the chunk and give it away. Repeat. This is how I keep my mint looking good.

Everybody has something they can't grow.

I can't grow marigolds. I have tried and tried. They always die.

This year, my friend bought some 'Janie' marigold seeds for me and told me to just stick the pointy end into the dirt and let the feathery end stick out. You know it works??!

I now have 3 pretty little marigolds peeking out from under the tomato plants. They bloom and all, and I am just thrilled, but it isn't a big flashy bloom, like normal people have. It is a petite bloom, and I feel blessed to have them.

You do grow something really well, I am thinking.....?

I do too, many things, but I still have that marigold envy thing.

Janie

Marigolds = snail food here. They are eaten to the ground by the next morning. I can grow everything else thou. Except morning glories. I kill them too.
Tally HO!

Can't grow it either! I try every year and it just dies. Right now I have one very sickly looking pot. It will die soon. Gladys

I grow mint mostly in the ground, some survive, some don't. They all seem to like water. With pretty good soil and enough water, I can usually get some to survive in partial shade. I like chocolate mint, because it's doing well for me...tolerates dappled shade to part sun. Spearmint is surviving. Oh, I almost forgot. My Mountain Mint is thriving, spreading, even tolerates heat and full sun most of the afternoon. I've had it a few years and have had to give some away to keep it from taking too much space. Try that one if you can find it.

seems like there oughta be a way to make some money from this skill, I mean problem, y'all have....

Mint was pretty invasive for me in Illinois, but I've killed off a lot of it in Texas over the last 8 years, both in containers and in the ground, in various light and moisture situations. Right now two plants are surviving pretty well in really large patio containers containing specimen trees, with the mint a kind of ground cover underneath. One is an orange mint and the other was sold as 'English Mint'. Three successive plantings of chocolate mint [my favorite] croaked pretty fast.

Maybe you'll get lucky eventually lovek9!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Not to worry about it taking over, I've got it growing (if you can call it that) in pots. I started out with some really good organic soil. It's spearmint -- maybe I should try another variety. I just love the way mint smells, on my way to work every morning, I pick a piece of it and smell it in the car (my car smells a lot like dogs since I work in a vet clinic and have many dogs of my own).

I do have another question -- my passionflower is starting to send little shoots up a few feet away from the vine (coming out of my lawn) -- can I dig those up and pot them?

Mine is planted under the front steps where it gets filtered sun.
It looked pretty rough for a while but is growing beautifully now!
It's too versatile an herb to be without.
Gotta have it for tabbouleh, sweet tea, and Mojitos!

I think that it depends on which variety of mint you are trying to grow. There are over 600 different varieties of mint with all mints being varieties of spearmint or peppermint. Some of the varieties are hard for me to grow while others are very easy. I have found that I have better luck with the spearmints opposed to the peppermints. Also do not let your mints dry out because they become very unhappy little plants without moisture. I grow all of mine in dapple sunlight to shade.

And remember mints should be planted as far apart as possible, as true mints hybridize easily, cross-pollinating when in close proximity. The resulting hybrid combines the characteristics of both parent mints in a way that may not be favorable. If you grow both peppermint and spearmint, start them at opposite ends of the garden in order to maintain the integrity of both.

lovek9, everybody's focused on mint;

maybe you better post a separate thread about that passion flower!

Gosh, I hadn't even noticed the question about passion vine flower, but since you asked the answer is yes. Pot up those babies and you will end up with way more passion vine flowers than you know what to do with.

Hmmm, maybe a pest got to them? I planted mine in fall in full sun and they did a lot of their growing over the winter. Maybe a cool season helps them get off to a good start? Once spring kicked in they went crazy. I planted 4 little 4-inch plants (chocolate mint, spearmint, and peppermint) and not only are they spreading they seem to be reseeding and now have filled in about four square feet. I didn't amend the soil much, and so they're in mostly clay, with a few inches of compost. Keep trying!

My dream is to have corsican mint... anyone had success with this? I just love the smell! I keep killing it though.

Corsian mint? HA! I've been trying to grow it for about 5 or 6 years. Yes, I have it in the ground, but it just doesn't do much. I think that the humidity is just too high down here, but I don't give up. You might try to grow it in a pot and see if you have any luck.

I can't grow mint. We had it at our first house in Miami 45 years ago - was great. At every house since then it doesn't survive - in the ground or a pot. Now I live in Tallahassee. Again I have tried and it never works: inside, outside, sun or shade, pot or ground, more water, less water. We grow all other herbs with no problem (except cilantro - which only likes our winters). Out soil is high in nitrogen, acid, with lots of red clay (we live in the Red Hills - on the Georgia-Florida line). Not sure if I want to try again :( .

I have the best luck setting mint in the ground or in a pot right underneath a water hydrant (which drips a bit when operating). That way it gets watered every single time I turn on the water for ANYTHING! Mint thrives on water. I find it doesn't tolerate sun so well for me in Texas. I had some grow wildly at my last house. Couldn't stop it. That yard was pretty shaded though. Shade and lots of water is the key in Texas.

It seems Y’all are down in southern states. Keeping in the ground til next year. Texas sun. Bah!!! Been trying to grow it in Canada for years now NEVER any luck but I am NOT gonna give up ever. I’ve tried every variety just to be disappointed every time but at least i feel a little better knowing I’m not the only one now. thank you. I love it sooo much but it just hates me. Booo whooo