FAQ: Keep mint under control

Q: Last year, mint went completely insane in my garden and spread everywhere. I’m planning to rip some of it out. How can I grow this herb without having it take over everything?


A: It’s true. A little bit of mint goes a long way. If you don’t want to have to do the back-breaking chore of yanking a bunch out each year, plant it inside a deep container in your garden bed, leaving the pot’s rim just above the soil line. Use this trick with other invasive plants, too, such as milkweed, which butterflies love.

FAQ: Should roots of rootbound plants be sliced before planting?

Q: Is it true that I should cut the roots of plants before I plant them, especially if they’re rootbound?



A: Good question. This one gets debated a lot. You know you’ve got a rootbound plant when you tip it out of its container and matted roots are more prevalent than soil. Wrapped in a tight ball, the roots usually circle the bottom of the plant because they’ve had no place else to go and the soil around them has broken down. It is best to separate the roots as best you can before planting, and that probably means cutting out some of the most matted parts.

Being rootbound puts a lot of stress on growing plants because they lack the nutrients they need to thrive. If you don’t try to correct the situation at planting time, those plants are likely to be stunted. They may even fail to grow much at all or even die. The debate comes in over whether to slice the roots on the sides of container-grown plants whether they are rootbound or not. Studies have indicated that the practice doesn’t help but many gardeners think it does. So you might want to try experimenting with that yourself.

FAQ: Meaning of NPK 

Q: What do the three numbers next to NPK on fertilizer packages mean?


A: Those numbers refer to nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K), respectively. Like us, plants need nutrients to be healthy and strong. Nitrogen helps plants build chlorophyll, which helps them use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into sugars that feed the plant. You can tell if a plant isn’t getting enough nitrogen if its leaves look yellow or pale green. Symptoms usually appear on the lower leaves first. 
Potassium helps stems and roots develop and gives flowers their rich coloring. Plants that are low on potassium will often have yellow leaves, too, but the yellow starts at the leaf’s edges and works its way in. Phosphorous is important for rapid root growth, so it isn’t always easy to see a deficiency in this nutrient until a plant is clearly stunted.