Korean Mint is a beautiful, attractive perennial with light purple flower spikes. The stems and the leaves of this plant are light till dark green. The young leaves have an anise-like flavour and odour. The leaves are used fresh or dried to make a medicinal tea to cure an upcoming cold. This semi-hardy perennial looses his foliage in autumn and has to be protected against snow and frost in winter. Height: 60 - 100 cm
Indoor sowing: march - april
Outdoor sowing: april - may
Germination: 10 - 14 days
Germinationtemp.: 16 - 20°C
Sowing depth: shallow - ½ cm
Plant distance: 25 - 30 cm
Plant position: sunny
Harvesting period: july - october
Sow indoors from march on in trays with fine potting soil. Sow shallow and press the seeds in gently or cover the seeds with a very thin layer of soil. Korean mint needs light to germinate. Keep the soil and seeds moist, but not waterlogged. Cover the seedingtrays eventually with some clingfilm or a lid to help keeping the soil and seeds moist. Keep the temperature as even as possible. Don't let the temperature drop during the nights. Remove the lid or clingfilm when the seedlings emerge. Transplant them after about 6 weeks, after first emerging, to a sunny plot outdoors.
Sow outdoors from mid april on a sunny plot. Sow the seeds thinly and rake them gently in to the soil. Thin the seedlings to 25-30 cm, when they are large enough to handle.
This semi-hardy perennial looses it's foliage in the autumn and has to be protected against snow and frost in winter. Korean mint attracts bees and butterflies and even birds enjoy the seeds of this plant.
