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Mint cross pollination?
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Posted by n_r_23 9 (My Page) on Sat, Jul 10, 10 at 19:43
| I'm looking to plant several types of mints in the front yard. While they will be a few yards apart I was wondering if I should worry about cross pollination? I was under the impression that since some of my choices Peppermint, Pineapple mint and Mojito mint don't breed true from seed, would this be a problem? I've heard before that even though they produce sterile flowers and/ or seed, cross pollination could effect flavor and health of the plants. Especailly the following year. This dosen't make sense to me even if they are close to mint that do breed true like Spearmint. What are your opinions/experinces? Here is a complete list....Peppermint, Variegated Peppermint, Mojito Mint, Pineapple mint and Pennyroyal. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| It doesn't matter if they do cross pollinate. Mints are perennials that spread underground from their roots, so each clump will run true to type. Just don't use the seeds. With a little work you can keep them from spreading where you don't want them to go. |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| The problem with planting them too close is that they will grow together and *you* won't know which plant is which. Especially keep the pennyroyal away from the culinary mints - pennyroyal has toxicity concerns. FataMorgana |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| Actually according to some herb authorities, mints can and do cross-pollinate. It is suggested that you grown them apart. If you have a problem with different mint types cross-pollinating, or if the plants are reseeding prolifically, cut off the flowers. And keep the pennyroyal away. It has been used traditionally to induce abortions and can be dangerous if ingested. According to the Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses by Deni Bown, page 386, she states the following: . . . certain herbs may cross-pollinate, giving rise to seedlings that differ from the mother plant. When various kinds of thyme (Thymus supp.), marjoram (Origanum spp.), mint (Mentha spp.), and lavender (Lavandula spp.) are grown near each other, the chances of hybridization are high. Closely related genera may also interbreed if they are grown together and flower at the same time; dill and fennel are known to cross, resulting in plants that are indeterminate in flavor. See Mints which states the following: Different varieties of mint should be planted as far apart as possible, as true mints hybridize easily, cross-pollinating when in close proximity. The resulting hybrid combines the characteristics of both parent mints in a way that may not be favorable. If you grow both peppermint and spearmint, start them at opposite ends of the garden in order to maintain the integrity of both. |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| Cross-pollination affects only the next SEED generation. Those would be the hybrids. It will not change the PLANTS that you intend to install. As long as seeds are not collected and germinated for a future crop, you need never worry about the pollination activities. |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| In other words....some plants can cross pollinate successfully like crazy! It won't affect the flavor or anything else about those plants. Only the plants that you may grow from seeds you've collected from those original plants will express that new 'hybrid blood line'. |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| That is true rhizo. I guess that I really didn't make myself clear about planting and cross pollination. Thank you for your clarification. However as a rule of thumb down here in far south Texas, where our herbs basically grow year round unless we get a rare hard freeze, we do not recommend planting herbs that can cross pollinate close together unless you intend on cutting all the blooms off. This is basically for precautionary purposes to protect what "might" come up as a hybrid. For example, a friend of mine from a northern state, moved here and planted 4 different varieties of mints in an old whiskey barrel. It wasn't too long before she realized that she had only one type of mint because of cross pollination. I do have a small bed of mint with 3 different varieties which has been growing non-stop for about 6 years now. But since it is small, I go out and cut off all of the blooms to prevent the possibility of cross pollination. And one of our Master Gardener demo gardens was left unattended for about a year, and before we knew it we had a whole bed of "?". So we started investigating, and it turned out that the dill and fennel, which had been planted closely together, had cross pollinated with the end result being something no one wanted to us. So we do not recommend planting cross-pollinating plants too close together for this reason. Sorry for any misunderstanding. |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| Thanks for the replies everyone! The closest 2 types will be together is about 9 ft. I'll snip the blooms just to be safe. I thought it was fascinating that something classified as "sterile" could pollinate anything at all. |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| Your mints can't, as you say, be both sterile and cross pollinate. But not all mints are sterile by any means and if they're not they can breed! I'll re emphasise what others have said. The flavour of the original plants is not affected by cross pollination. It only becomes an issue if the cross pollination results in seedlings. They can be variable. So, as you plan, cut off the flowers if you don't want mongrel mints in your garden. |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| Can mint and basil cross-pollinate? I've had mint growing for years and planted a basil plant not far from the mint just a few weeks ago. I discovered yesterday that it had begun flowering; I pinched the blooms off and discovered the plant smelled peppery/minty and not like basil at all. Is this due to flowering (and if this is the case, any hope at getting my "old" basil back without replanting altogether?), or could it be that it's cross-pollinated with the mint? Is that possible? Or, as flora_uk said, any cross-pollination wouldn't affect the original plants, only hybrid seedlings? I'm a gardening novice. :-) |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| I do know that italian parsley and chives shouldn't be planted togerther. The new plants are WEIRD |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| "a friend of mine from a northern state, moved here and planted 4 different varieties of mints in an old whiskey barrel. It wasn't too long before she realized that she had only one type of mint because of cross pollination." Cross-pollination had nothing to do with that. What happened is that one of the varieties was so vigorous is crowded the others out and killed them. As for the basil ... mint will spread with underground runners, so you probably have mint there, not a hybrid. |
RE: Mint cross pollination?
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| "I do know that italian parsley and chives shouldn't be planted together. The new plants are WEIRD". Not sure where you got that information, Bellashere. Do you have a reference? The only reason I can imagine for that advice is that chives are perennial and stay in one spot undisturbed, while parsley is biennial so requires some disturbance every year. There is no way they can cross pollinate and produce seed as they are in entirely different plant families. You might as well be discussing the offspring of a pig and a cat. So the concept of 'new plants' is just nonsense, I am afraid. |
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