Most of my herbs are for savory dishes, but one of my herbs pairs especially well with sweet. Mint is a wonderful herb to have in your backyard garden. I love to crush a few leaves to release the clean, fresh scent. It makes a refreshing hot tea on its own, and pairs nicely with iced tea, like in my refreshing mint-infused sweet tea. If you have a mint plant, but would like another; or you want to give one to a friend, mint is easy to propagate.

You only need a few cuttings of fresh mint. If you want to start a mint plant for yourself, you can get cuttings from a friend. You could even use cuttings purchased from the fresh herb section of a grocery store.

mint cuttings

Cut off the leaves so that the bottom few inches are bare. Leaves below the water may begin to rot and create a nasty, smelly situation.

Place the mint stems in water.

You should begin to see little white roots begin to grow within about two weeks. You may have some that will not root for you, but most should grow roots.

Once you have multiple roots a few inches long, you can pot them into some of your homemade compost or some purchased potting soil. Leave it in partial shade for a few days to harden it off ( or you can place it on the bottom shelf of your snazzy pallet potting bench).

You now have another pot of mint for eating or giving!

If you are brave, you can skip the whole rooting in water process and put the cuttings directly in soil. I think it is a bit more risky, but it can save you a bit of effort.

If you make another mint, what would you do with it? Make more tea or give it away?

Have you used this process for another plant? It’s really easy to comment on my blog and I’d love to hear your thoughts!