Mentha 'Purple Sensation'

Trial: Perennial

Years Trialed: 1998, 1999

Good Qualities

Year 1

Grew really well; Fragrance. Straight, long stems. Star of the perennials; Nice looking foliage.

Year 2

Pretty flower. Long vase life; Foliage is very fragrant. Flower is 2-3;. Cut either foliage with or without flower. Great green filler with fragrance; We have other similar mints. This one is just as good, spreading and healthy; Showy flower heads (for mint) later flowering than other mint; May be a better landscape plant; Nice foliage; Lots of it grew like mad, very prolific.


Problems

Year 1

Bees and hornets. Very strong smell. Dropped its flowers. Messy. What can we use it for? There is lots of it; Poor flower; Flowers faded too quickly and I never knew just when to cut.

Year 2

Runs rampant; Likes lots of water. Must be ready to rejuvenate every two years.


Comments

Year 1

Looks very much like run of the mill mint; Very hot dry summer, it grew very well; Should give good production next year; At this point it is a low growing mat.

Year 2

Invasive and needs to be controlled (3); Surround with weed barrier; I had to pull a bunch of spreading plants out this year but the ones I left produced some rather pretty stems that last forever in a vase; Not as fragrant as some other mints; Florist accepted this better this year; We plowed it down, much too weedy. But not useful for cuts; Too many hornets, etc.



Trial Data

Year 1

Mentha 'Purple Sensation'
Yield (stems/plant)¹ Stem Length (inches)¹ Market Appreciation Rating² Repeat Again Rating² Ease of Cultivation Rating²
Average 11.9 18.6 1.4 1.4 4.2

¹Data shown are from those respondents who harvested stems. Some respondents may not have harvested stems because they were too short. Flowering stems may be longer next year after plants are established. See comments section for more details.

²1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.


Year 2


Mentha 'Purple Sensation'
Yield (stems/plant)¹ Stem Length (inches)¹ Market Appreciation Rating² Repeat Again Rating² Ease of Cultivation Rating²
Average 53.2 24.8 3.3 3.8 4.9


¹Data shown are from those respondents who harvested stems. Some respondents may not have harvested stems because they were too short. Flowering stems may be longer next year after plants are established. See comments section for more details.

²1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.



Supplier

Here & Now Gardens P.O. Box 6 Gales Creek, OR 97117 503-357-5774 FAX 503-357-3858