[Amilo]

A few months ago I bought some Moroccan mint for my better half as she does like a mint tea.

At the moment it is in a large clay pot but I would like to plant it in a plastic box buried to ground level to stop the roots spreading, unfortunately I have noticed the it also put out ground runners that grow about 1 inch or more in a week, I reckon if left un-controled it would spread many feet in a couple of months

Anyone got any ideas how to stop the ground runners? N.B. it climbs obstacles!!!

Maybe I will have to be content to keep it in the pot on concrete.

[gavinjconway]

Keep growing in containers... its like mares tail once its in the ground 

[Paul Plots]

Keep growing in containers... its like mares tail once its in the ground 

Hey - maybe that's the answer to getting rid of mares tail - plant mint that will might out do it. 

There again....... maybe not 

[Trillium]

Mint is a nightmare out of the pot. As said, it will send out runners that would pass over the box edge and into the soil, so keep it up and potted. If you want lots, then simply set up more pots of mint.

The previous owner of my house had it loose in the veg garden and it took me 3 years of regular digging out and spraying with glyphosate to finally get rid of it. Think: rampant.

[JayG]

Definitely keep it confined by a pot, but you will find that being unable to "escape" the roots and shoots quickly form a solid mass so it tends to finish up strangling itself (I have to re-start mine every spring with a few shoots from the old ones, although that's partly because they are in only 10" pots sunk into the ground.)

[Paul Plots]

I agree with everyones warnings about mint spreading and being indestructable but.......

  ...... I guess it's just my luck / skill.... I managed to kill all of the mint plants I've had  Plain mint, spearmint, pineapplemint, peppermint, applemint..... Dead as a dodo. 

And I love the stuff.... it just hates me  :blink: 

[moose]

I have some surrounded by grass. The regular mowing keeps it from spreading.

[LilacSandy]

I agree with everyones warnings about mint spreading and being indestructable but.......

  ...... I guess it's just my luck / skill.... I managed to kill all of the mint plants I've had  Plain mint, spearmint, pineapplemint, peppermint, applemint..... Dead as a dodo. 

And I love the stuff.... it just hates me  :blink: 

I was the same Paul, I think it is because I kept it in pots and there was nowhere for it to spread when the old center died.  Because I use mint all the time I made a raised bed on the lotty for them and this time they are going strong, I will plant sage and rosemary with it as they are robust enough to hold their own.

[Paul Plots]

That sounds a good idea LilacSandy.

I want to try again next spring. I have the bottom of a very large plastic drum - may have been a water-butt. I think it's deep enough (2') and wide enough (3') to make an ideal home for mints.

All I need to do is stop using it as a waste bin for the plot - it's full of glass shards and rubbish! 

[Amilo]

Thanks all; right it stays in \a container!