Native Americans used to drink field mint tea as a remedy for colds, and it’s still used today for teas and flavorings for food. It’s an unusual-looking mint plant, with a square stem that grows from 6 to 18 inches tall with tufts of flowers puffing out around the stem every few inches. As with other types of mint, you can pick mature field mint leaves first thing in the morning for the best flavor. Enjoy them fresh chopped in iced tea, sprinkled on a salad or mixed into a variety of dishes. Dry the leaves for long term storage.
Make sure your proposed planting site includes full sun, or almost full sun. It can tolerate light shade, but not dappled sun, like underneath a tree.
This plant does not like to get dried out, so sandy soils aren’t the best environment in which to grow your field mint.
After the winter, there's usually not much left of your mint than a few woody stems! You can cut them down - it's the from the roots that the young shoots will start again!
Use a rich potting soil and a large pot to allow the mint to spread out a bit, and keep the flowers deadheaded to prevent them from seeding onto nearby soil.
Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, large quantities of some members of this genus, especially when taken in the form of the extracted essential oil, can cause abortions so some caution is advised.
