Mentha longifolia ‘Silver Mint’

Silver Mint Lamiaceae

A mint that has clearly spent rather too much time in the moonlight. ‘Silver Mint’ is a particularly ornamental form of Mentha longifolia, producing soft, narrow, lance-shaped leaves densely clothed in silvery hairs, giving the whole plant a striking blue-grey, almost metallic appearance. Tall stems carry elongated spikes of pale mauve flowers in summer, providing an excellent contrast with the foliage and attracting bees, hoverflies and butterflies. 

Unlike the specifically collected ‘Lahaj’ form, ‘Silver Mint’ is an established horticultural selection whose precise original introduction does not appear to be well documented. It is widely grown and sold in Britain under the names Mentha longifolia ‘Silver’, ‘Silver Mint’ and ‘Silver-leaved’, although these names may represent closely related horticultural material rather than a single formally registered cultivar. 

The species itself is widespread across Europe, North Africa and temperate western and central Asia, usually occurring beside streams, ditches, marshes and other moist habitats.  The foliage is aromatic, although ‘Silver Mint’ is generally regarded as more ornamental than culinary, with a flavour considerably less agreeable than the familiar culinary mints. 

Give it full sun or light shade and moist but well-drained soil. Like most mints, it spreads enthusiastically by rhizomes, so containment is sensible unless a sizeable silver drift is exactly what you have in mind.

Height: 60–100cm
Spread: 60–100cm+
Flowering: July–September
Hardiness: H5, approximately -15 to -10°C
Position: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Moist, fertile, well-drained soil
Foliage: Deciduous, strongly silver-grey and aromatic