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From: bruce@hpfclm.HP.COM (Bruce Bergmann)
Newsgroups: net.garden
Subject: Re: query: how to prune an overgrown mint plant?
Message-ID: <9180001@hpfclm.HP.COM>
Date: Thu, 4-Sep-86 13:16:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: hpfclm.9180001
Posted: Thu Sep  4 13:16:31 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Sep-86 05:35:01 EDT
References: <2259@hammer.UUCP>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard - Fort Collins, CO
Lines: 24

> I just moved into a home whose yard contains a mint plant.  It has been
> growing wild for several months, and is much too big for its location.
> I would like to trim it back (and regain the use of the sidewalk), but
> I'm concerned.  Only the outer part of the bush is green; the inner
> stalks are grown, and if I trim it back as much as I want to I won't
> leave any green.
> 
> Suggestions?  I can wait until winter if that's proper.  I like having
> fresh mint, so total removal is not an option.
> 

I would suggest using your lawn mower (or hedge trimmer) :-).  Seriously
though, mint gets 'scraggly' this time of the year naturally. I would
suggest you prune it back to ground level (really). Take the prunings,
tie them together with a string and hang them upside down to dry in a
cool dry place. When dry, pick the individual leaves (without crushing 
them if possible) and store them in a jar. Mint dries nicely and retains
much of its original flavor and odor- it may not be ideal for mint julips
but makes good tea and may be used in many recipes. For fresh mint, you'll
just have to wait `til next year; mint is a indestrucible as thishle and
comes back every year.

Bruce Bergmann
{ihnp4}!hplabs!hpflca!bruce