Any chance of pictures? Spearmint is 'stalky' inasmuch as it can grow a foot tall or so. In fact many mints are. If you've only seen low growing vining mint maybe it was a creeping variety.

Most mints are happier in damp, shaded places rather than dry full sun.

Here are a few pics. It seems they were not being pinched off, which contributed to the stalkyness. I pinch off occasionally, but don't want to look like I'm stealing from the plant - to the untrained eye.

My favorite mint ever was viny, I suppose. It got it as a cutting from a yard in New Orleans, grew it in a container inside in NY. The closest thing I found in stores was called Mint The Best - a type of spearmint. I don't know what the one in the ground is. It's not very strong.

6/24 - It was looking yellow - I think from not watering enough, and getting splashed from above... The soil there is very dry, sunny.

7/5 - Taken today,

7/5 - Today, overhead.

I pinched back the one in the lower right corner a lot, bc it had the worst sunburn(?), and it looks the nicest now.

*** I told my neighbor about watering from overhead and she knows, so that might not be the culprit. She said it may be bugs, so she sprinkles black pepper around the bed. Is this ok for mint? What about my for string beans, which I have nearby? haha.

There are sometimes slugs at night, but mint is supposed to repel them?

There is also a bunch of mint that isn't doing as well, in the shady corner on the opposite side of the box. That bunch looked healthier and softer, like a vine, when it was planted, but it looked like it was transplanted in a "bush", with no space between the stalks. That down almost completely died out immediately.

I'll take a shot on your 6/24 picture ... from that one (and guessing the size of your hand), I'd say they are underwatered and overfed leading to it not being too strong tasting. For comparison, my peppermint leaves are in the 1" range and my lemon balm is around 1.5". If I remember correctly, my spearmint leaves were in the same range - the voles ate them all last winter so I don't have a good picture. (for comparison, below is my peppermint in an 8 inch deep x 24 inch wide planter after a haircut that took the top 8" off)

I'd give them a really deep soaking and see if they perk up and then if so, pinch them back a bit to get them to fill out.

Never heard of black pepper as a bug deterrent - only as a temp measure for raccoons.

Are those mint leaves the length of your fingers, or is that just an illusion from the photo?

Ha, yes. The BOTTOM leaves are the size of my index finger, about 2".

The further up you go, of course, they are smaller, but the top few levels are exceptionally small for mint!

I am used to "The Best", where most of the leaves grow 1.5-2", with the exception of new growth, but that grew pretty fast.

The OP's mint looks like ordinary spearmint to me . The kind we make mint sauce out of for roast lamb. I see nothing odd about the size of the larger leaves. How long is it since they were planted? They look to me typical of mint that has been rooted in water. I'd cut some of them right back and see how they do. As you say the soil is very dry and they are in full hot sun. Both bad conditions for mint. To me they just look parched and miserable. Do they have to be planted there?

floral_uk:

OP? Original poster? :) I think I'm getting the hang of this forum.. :)

Yes, they were rooted in water, but I don't know where they got em from originally, perhaps from a friend's yard.

I wish I could cut them back, and that they were planted somewhere else on the lawn, but they are my neighbor's. She gave me some that I have rooted inside - and they had aphids all over them! Maybe I will plant my own in a shadier spot, taking your advice and cutting them down, and they will grow the way I'm accustomed to them.

Thanks for the tips.

I'm not quite understanding the situation here. Are you saying that these plants aren't actually yours? If that's the case I'm not sure why you are worrying about them. I'd just ignore them and get on with growing your own that you are rooting indoors. If they are outside they will be less susceptible to aphids. Aphids thrive in a protected indoor environment where they don't have to contend with rain or wind. To remove the aphids just grab the mint cuttings and sloosh them under the tap. The sooner you get your mint outside the better since, as well as the aphids, they will not be getting enough light inside and that will make them taller and more sparsely leaved. If they are already rooted I'd pot them up or plant them in the ground asap. Give them ample water, stop pinching them until they are growing strongly and then just harvest mint when you need it. That will keep them trimmed.

floral_uk

They aren't mine, but in a shared space with the neighbor. She then gave us stalks to root ourselves. Seeing how the stuff in the ground was performing different from what I'm used to, I was cautious about whether it was something I would want to bother with growing more of, let alone eat.

I'm rooting the ones she gave me, and I'll make room for a sprig in the shade, and maybe one indoors for myself to eat.

This looks like the Spearmint we had growing in DG on the back hill in full sun in California. The leaves were tougher than normal, but still made a good sauce or tea.

The mint that grew farther down in better soil with more moisture were greener and less tough.