Yes, it does smell good when mowed. Smells good after a rainfall too. Unfortunately it is mostly growing up against the garage wall where I cannot mow. I'm going to start pulling and hope for the best. Perhaps the best bet is to tell my son it's his responsibility to pull any he sees and offer him a $$$ incentive if I can't see any. He'll do anything for spending money. Deb in PA

The famous gardener, Alan Chadwick, recommended planting mint near the garden faucet. That way, every time you turn on the water, the mint gets a splash. It loves to be moist. The soil should be nice and rich. I top dress mine with composted cow manure, or even better, make manure tea. A nice write-up on mint can be found at the website below. Click on "Techniques", then on "Mint." Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick

If you look back to the thread "are all mints perennial?" you'll get some more info. If you choose to overwinter them inside, it would probably be best to cut them back. Remember that with overwintering anything containered, your main concern is the roots, not necessarily the top growth. You want to encourage the plant to be healthy and leggy growth is usually a breeding ground for bad critters. I wouldn't count on any seeds from hybrid mints being "true." If you want to multiply your plants, do that through cuttings, instead. A lot of time to save indoor space, I'll take hardy containered plants and sink them, container and all, into the ground after first frost. Fine mulch about 2". Just be sure that you use plastic -- earthenware in Z5 will crack. Also be sure to pull them in Spring before any serious growth starts so they don't end up rooting in the garden. Hope this helps! Martie

Hi bananastand, problem maybe with your tin bucket, beside being too stressful to the root system, after 2 years soil may have leached from the tin and may have become too acidic. Or container and the soil in it was too small to maintain the overgrown root system. Same thing happen to me when I used a small plastic pot same size as your bucket about 2 years ago. I was able to get one twig to come back to live and I am growing mine in a round wooden box, actually it used to be a live crab container in its previous life, (oriental seafood restaurants throw out on a regular base ;) I just painted outside with wood preserver and lined the bottom with coconut husk and my mints love it. Mainly because the runners are able to squeeze out through the openings and think that they can creep over to the next pot, I think the thought of that keeps them happy and healthy, So not only they grow in the box but out of the sides also, I simply trim the ones if it looks like they are about to replant themselves somewhere else. This way the container it is growing in can sustain the root system without getting overwhelmed by the root runners. With that said, I would advise you to remove the whole thing from the tin can as soon as possible and sit it in a larger pot, and open a 2 or 3 holes in mid section of the new pot and give it a tea spoon of lime pellets, no more than that without knowing the actual soil condition, that is what I had to do two years ago and worked for me. I never take mine inside it stays in my balcony and survives through the winter with no problems.