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Post by Use Less on Jun 13, 2020 21:12:35 GMT
Something that looks like a mint is spreading in my strawberry bed. The leaves are fuzzy. It is aromatic, not unpleasant. Definitely not peppermint, spearmint or lemon balm. It could be a catnip or catmint, but the one I planted has smaller leaves and is blooming profusely right now. This is not even close. Any ideas?
Update: not too likely a catnip. The little cat my neighbor has been feeding outside had zero interest. I grow my catnip in a sturdy wire cage, otherwise the cats that wander in town here beat it down to nothing.
Maybe horsemint?
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Post by feather on Jun 13, 2020 21:21:32 GMT
Apple mint Pineapple mint Oregano When you crush it and tear it an close your eyes and breathe it in, what does it smell like?
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Post by Use Less on Jun 13, 2020 23:05:10 GMT
Thanks, feather. I can't place the smell. Nothing pretty like apple or pineapple mint. No good reason it would be oregano. I've never grown any, and that doesn't sound like something the birds would have seeded for me.
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Post by willowgirl on Jun 14, 2020 2:50:14 GMT
Is the stem square? Mints have square stems.
Could it be bergamot, aka monarda?
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Post by bowdonkey on Jun 14, 2020 13:34:37 GMT
Creeping Charlie? You don't want that one taking hold.
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Post by Use Less on Jun 14, 2020 16:06:50 GMT
One last update, and I'll let this go. It's definitely a mint. The stem is square, the leaves are the shape of mint, but fuzzy. There's a dark-red color at the root end of the stem. Most of the stems seem to have their own root; only a few had formed root-runners. This AM, it smells minty,with hints of both citronella and cleanser. Not peppermint. I have that growing elsewhere. My little hometown was the world's major supplier of peppermint oil for many years, when it was used medicinally even more than now, plus as flavoring. My original root came from the historical society. It is not lemon balm (which really does smell like citronella to me.) There's some of that growing in the s far back corner of the yard. It is also not monarda, catnip, catmint or creeping Charlie. Yep, have those, too, the monarda and catnip on purpose, the c-Charlie because... I pulled almost all of the whatever-it-is this AM. It hasn't seriously choked off strawberries. There a few spots now bare that I can use to step into the patch, and set runners in later on. I only left it grow close to the landscape timbers that form the end of the patch. If it doesn't control easily, I'll pull the rest. Thanks to everyone who offered ideas!
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