How to Grow Calamint in the pot indoors?

Calamint herb enlivens the garden with its decent scent, lovely flowers, and leaves properties.

They have little flowers and an intense leaf texture that attracts beautiful butterflies and bees.

The leaves of the herb spread a camphor scent in the air when they get crushed.

With that, a question comes into mind, Can you grow calamint easily in your garden?

Well, Calamint easily thrives in full sun with well-drained soil. This hardy herb is a native plant of the Uk and refers to USDA plant hardiness zone 5-9.

Let’s know more about Calamint…

What does calamint look like 

Before discussing how to grow calamint.

Let’s know a few things about them.

Source: Photos from the Haven

• The herb has a thick-stemmed, bushy shrub-like most mint plants.
• Its leaves have an intense texture with many spotted ridges and hairy or fuzzy foliage.
• Calamint blooms in mid to late summer and a few varieties flower in the fall and grow 4-24 inches in height.
• The flowers are tube-like in shape and their color ranges from purple, red, white, and cream.
• This plant is self-sown and shows invasive qualities.

Varieties of calamint

Depending upon its variety Calamint is found in different shapes, sizes, and colors.

Here I’ll describe some of the Calamintha varieties that grow well in different parts of the United States.

C. coccinea

C.coccinea is native to sandy areas of the southeast Gulf Coast and Florida.

This variety is also known as red basil, red mint shrub, red savory, southern calamint, scarlet balm, scarlet wild basil, and scarlet calamint.

It is a high drought-tolerant shrub that has a curly stem and red flowers.

The flowers of the red mint shrub attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.

C. NEPETA

C. nepeta is a native to southern Europe and Great Britain, commonly known as lesser calamint and field balm.

Lesser calamint thrives well in many American gardens and is referred to as a weed by Virginia tech.

This variety mostly in lime-heavy soil grows small light blue to purple flowers.

This medical herb is sometimes cultivated for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, depression, insomnia, and painful menses.

You’ll buy seeds on Amazon

C. SYLVATICA

C. sylvatica is commonly known as common calamint and woodlands calamint botanically referred to as C.baetica, C. Officinalis, or C. ascendens.

Its leaves are used in making tea with a flavor similar to a mix of mint and marjoram.

Woodland’s calamint grows low and produces lavender flowers.

This herb is also used for medical purposes similar to C. nepeta.

C. GRANDIFLORA

C. Grandiflora is nicknamed “large-flowered calamint”, it produces relatively attractive large pink flowers.

This variety smells like a mixture of pineapple, catnip, thyme, and pennyroyal.

Its variegated version grows well in partial shade, while the soil-colored type does well in full sun.

How to Grow Calamint 

Herb plants are easy to grow or I say once you plant them they grow themself.

But there are a few things you should keep in mind before planting any herb.

Calamintha sylvatica is often called woodland calamint. Source: Aidehua2013

Let’s discuss them one by one, 

Grow in the container

Growing herbs planted in a container or a pot is a good way to deal with them.

In a container when plants are grown, they don’t spread much and need low maintenance.

Calamint or any other herb plant is grown for its leaves, planting in a pot provides you with enough leaves.

They grow invasively, if you plant them directly in the garden, after a few months they invade other plants and occupy a large area.

Related post: 8 Best perennial Herbs to grow in the container

How to propagate calamint?

There are a few different approaches to propagating calamint (Calamintha), including the following:

• Stem cuttings: Take stem cuttings from fresh growth in the late spring or early summer, remove the lower leaves, and insert them into a container of damp soil or propagation mix. You may do this in the late spring or early summer. Place the pot in a warm location while you cover it with a plastic bag and keep it there. Roots will develop after 2-4 weeks.
• Division: Established clumps should be divided either in the spring or the autumn. Dig the plant up carefully, separate it into multiple portions, ensuring sure that each section has some roots, and then replant each section in a different spot.
• Calamint may also be grown from its own seeds to produce new plants. In the latter part of winter or the early part of spring, sow the seeds in seed trays or pots and place them in a cold frame or an unheated greenhouse.

In order to avoid mold and mildew from growing, it is essential to maintain wet soil and enough air circulation, notwithstanding the cultivation technique that is chosen.

How to Divide Calamint?

These are the actions that need to be taken in order to split calamint:

• Wait until the plant is dormant in the spring or autumn before you attempt to prune it.
• Dig up the whole plant using a garden fork or spade, taking care not to do any harm to the roots as you go.
• You may use the fork or the spade to gently divide the plant into smaller portions. As you do so, check to see that each section has a sufficient number of roots.
• Plant each portion in a new spot, taking care to provide them sufficient distance from one another based on the kind of plant you have.
• Be sure to give the freshly planted parts plenty of water and maintain a wet soil texture while you wait for new growth to appear.
• To give the freshly planted portions a head start, fertilize them with a balanced fertilizer once they have been planted.

It is essential to keep in mind that not all types of Calamintha are suited for division and that some may be reproduced by other means, such as cuttings or seeds.

How to Transplant calamint

Herbs get easily transplanted. Growing calamint from seed needs lots of time and effort.

So, buy a small calamint plant from a nearby nursery and transplant it into a container or a pot.

• Take a large container or a pot, that has a drain hole in the bottom, to flow extra water.
• Put some small rocks in the bottom of the container, to provide a proper water and air circulation system for the plant.
• Fill some soil in the container. Always use rich compost soil for gardening, they have required nutrients.

Water

• Water the soil and put plants on it.
• Then fill the soil around the base of the plant so that the roots are not visible. 
• Pour water into moist soil. Always water plants from their base.
• Watering from the top of the plant or from the foliage might attract bacteria.
• Calamint doesn’t need much water. Water only when the soil gets dried.

Prune calamint

Calamint grows well so sometimes it’s considered a weed.

Occasionally trimming your plant makes them look neat and clean.

Growing herb plants means producing quality foliage. Calamint self-seed easily.

From whites and lavenders to pinks, Calamintha produces stunning blooms. Source: mtsvancouver2

So, most gardeners deadhead flowers before they release seeds, the plant uses most of its energy in growing flowers instead of leaves.

But having a few flowers in the plant is essential. The flowers start seeding in September.

So, deadhead earlier flowers encourage foliage, and in the second round let some flowers grow.

If flowers are not growing then trim some green, to redirect energy to flowers. These tricks pick your calamint to look constructive and balanced.

Related post: How to grow Mexican oregano plant (Easily)

How to prepare Catmint for Winter

Troubleshooting

This herb not only needs less maintenance but even pest resistance.

Sometimes only a few minor threats bother them.

The tubular blooms of Calamintha entice beneficial pollinators. Source: Melanie EL

Let’s see them.

Growing problems

One of the common complaints about this plant is that it reseeds quickly.

Unless you want to grow these mint mighty.

To control their growth you have to prune the flowers before producing seeds or take measures to prevent rooting such as landscape fabric.

You can also try some of its hybrids such as C. nepeta ‘Montrose White’ that don’t face these problems.

In the hot or humid summer, the foliage often loses its vision in the sun.

To prevent this, place your plant where it gets afternoon shade. Also, avoid overwatering, it makes things more humid.

Pest

As I said earlier this plant is pest-resistant but whitefly is consistently reported to bother calamint.

To get rid of these whiteflies

• Sprinkle water on the plant, usually washing the insects away.
• Use insecticidal soap for heavier infestations. 
• Periodically apply natural neem oil to prevent flies from settling on the plant.

Disease

Powdery mildew is a fungal growth that looks like white powder.

They spot in the leaves and turn their color to first yellow and then brown. This fungus stunts the growth of the plant and prevents flowers from growing.

Usually this fungal thrives at the end of the growing season, keep an eye on the plant.

This white dusty fungus can quickly spread to the whole plant. To prevent them apply neem oil or heavily diluted vinegar (on occasion).

If fungal is already grown then treat them with potassium bicarbonate, sulfur spray, or copper fungicide. 

If fungal is already grown then treat them with potassium bicarbonate, sulfur spray, or copper fungicide. 

FAQ

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Madhuresh

Hey! I’m Madhuresh, a passionate content creator, and a Plant lover. I created Shiny Plant to explore and learn about new plants. The purpose is to provide simple and effective Gardening Tips. Hope you’ll find this informative.