Mentha × piperita f. citrata 'Chocolate' - Chocolate Mint [UK Grown Culinary Herbs]

This deliciously fragrant culinary herb will add to your cooking as well as your garden with its chocolatey mint scent. Fully hardy throughout Europe, withstanding temperatures below -20°C.

This deliciously scented herb has the added benefit of being hardy and vigorous, making it easy to care for even as you harvest leaves for your cooking. If you've seen fresh mint added to a chocolate roulade on TV, why not try it yourself with this mint? It'll add a fresh minty flavour whilst perfectly complementing and adding to the chocolate. You can also use it anywhere you'd use mint in cooking, for a little chocolatey twist, or for choccy minty teas - the possibilities are endless! Added to that, it'll look great on your windowledge or in your garden, both its foliage alone and with whorls of lilac flowers in summer. It's so... enthusiastic that we'd recommend growing in a container even outdoors, and the only requirement is to make sure it gets plenty to drink. Your garden will be minty fresh in no time!

Scientific Name
Mentha × piperita f. citrata 'Chocolate' (mint hybrid with pepperlike species, citric form, cultivar: chocolate)

Common Name
Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Peppermint

Origin
Native to Europe, this plant has also been naturalised elsewhere

Pruning Tips
Cut back after flowering; regularly harvesting will also help keep it trim.

Wildlife Value
Provides nectar for butterflies (Mentha spp. is on Butterfly Conservation's Top Nectar Plants), and food for moth caterpillars (especially the Mint Moth and Beautiful Plume Moth). Mints are also popular with bees, and this mint's lilac flowers are no exception!

Positioning
Sun or shade, exposed or sheltered, your mint will grow wherever you keep it.

Water
Keep the soil moist; keep an eye out especially on outdoor containers in dry weather. Your mint will dramatically wilt when it's thirsty, and perk back up after a drink, so look out for this communication!

Soil
Soils that hold plenty of moisture, such as clay or loam soils, will work best here.

Food
Your mint likes rich, fertile soil best, so an annual top-up of compost will help keep it happy.

Pet-safe
No, this plant is toxic to cats and dogs, though it is tasty for humans!

Sprouts Top Tips
Mint is great as a first herb to grow because it's so easygoing and will come back year on year. But be aware- it will spread wherever it can! Make sure when planting out that you restrict root growth or plant in a container - unless you're happy with a whole garden full, that is!

Extras
This mint species is a hybrid of watermint, Mentha aquatica, and spearmint, Mentha spicata.