sweet mint?

[hunybee]

is there a difference between sweet mint and spearmint?


i have both, and the sweetmint smells and tastes like spearmint

is there a difference or is it just marketing on the part of the plant company?

[hunybee]

another question:

i bought peppermint from bonnie plants company, and it just does not look like the peppermint i am used to. peppermint that i have always known looks like this:





this is what mine looks like:






it looks different, and it isn't as powerful as the mint i am used to or normally find

what's the deal with that?

[packyderms_wife]

is there a difference between sweet mint and spearmint?


i have both, and the sweetmint smells and tastes like spearmint

is there a difference or is it just marketing on the part of the plant company?

sweet mint and spearmint are one and the same, I have a thread here from last year asking about the difference between sweet mint and peppermint.

[Summerthyme]

Mints hybridize with EASE... the only way to get a true peppermint is to either plant a LOT of seeds, and pick the one that's closest to what you want... or take cuttings and "clone" them.

You'll find multiple regional names for the various mint flavors. (Spearmint is a subspecies of peppermint, but they can cross). Chocolate mint tends to be very dark colored and has a hint of chocolate odor (not flavor, sadly!!)

Black peppermint is my personal choice for herbal preparations... it's pungent, potent and yet has a sweet flavor, but it's a true peppermint. I was fortunate to find a wild population (shhh... in a state park about 18 years ago... probably another felony!) and I started with one small plant. It's survived just fine, although is remarkably reticent about really spreading- a rather unusual mint.

If you're looking to buy plants, your best bet is to either buy from a reputable firm online/by mail (Richters herbs in Canada is really good, but expensive) or just go around your various local nurseries and do some "taste testing". Snip a small leaf off a potential purchase, and crush it, sniff it, and then nibble it. When you find one you like... buy it!

Summerthyme