Overwintering Mint in a Container

I grow a chocolate mint plant in a large container. This eliminates the worry that it will spread aggressively in the garden.  

This year I added a Mojito mint to the pot. With all the rain we had, it suffered from powdery mildew. In late summer, I chopped it all down and it recovered nicely, giving me another small crop of mint in fall.

At the end of the season I like to dig this pot into an empty raised bed. This way the plant will overwinter and start growing again once I pull it out and clean off the container.

To overwinter the pot, I dig a hole deep enough that I can sink the entire pot into the soil, then back fill and cover with soil. I add a layer of leaves or straw and mark the spot with a stick.

Last year, ants invaded this pot, so I pulled out the plant and repotted it with some fresh potting mix and compost. Then I kept it on our deck and the ants left it alone.

I have overwintered other perennial plants in this way, including a shrub I purchased on sale in the fall. I never had time to decide where to plant it - it survived well in the container in the ground and got a permanent home in spring.

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