Mint vs. Buttercup

The Pheasant2

Recently my lawn has been completely overtaken by creeping Buttercup - I've tried hoeing them out but with their root system and ability to spread I'm fighting a losing battle.

So...I've planted 3 peppermint plants on my lawn in the hope they will fill the same niche as the buttercup and eventually overtake them.

Basically I've decided I'd rather have a lawn infested with mint than with buttercup - at least it'll smell nice after mowing and I'll be kept in Mojitos for the Summer!

So, do ye think this will work? Will the mint have a chance of taking down the enemy? (buttercup)

chopper6

The Pheasant2 wrote: »

Recently my lawn has been completely overtaken by creeping Buttercup - I've tried hoeing them out but with their root system and ability to spread I'm fighting a losing battle.

So...I've planted 3 peppermint plants on my lawn in the hope they will fill the same niche as the buttercup and eventually overtake them.

Basically I've decided I'd rather have a lawn infested with mint than with buttercup - at least it'll smell nice after mowing and I'll be kept in Mojitos for the Summer!

So, do ye think this will work? Will the mint have a chance of taking down the enemy? (buttercup)

If you plant mint you wont have a lawn at all in a year or two.

It grows like mad and sows a vicious system of roots that form a solid bundle and leave the soil almost undiggable.

Best advice would be to spay the buttercups and reseed the area where they were and please dont introduce mint onto your lawn...having said that i'm curious as to what it would look (and smell) like having a lawn made out of mint

The Pheasant2

Hmm...see the problem is that my lawn is basically 80% buttercup as it is - we've got two dogs who spend most of the time in the garden so if I was to spray the buttercups and reseed with grass I've a feeling it'd get trampled by the dogs and leave bare patches which would be colonized by weeds again!

Like yourself I'm also curious as to what it'll smell like too!

redser7

That's the craziest solution I've ever heard And to choose mint! Would you not go for something like eh grass seed?

Hesh's Umpire

I've a big back garden and threw some bits of unwanted mint down in an unruly corner at the back.
As everyone knows it's invasive but the smell when it gets a belt of the strimmer is amazing!!

The Pheasant2

redser7 wrote: »

That's the craziest solution I've ever heard And to choose mint! Would you not go for something like eh grass seed?

I'll take that as a compliment

Well see the problem is that the buttercup is already well established - at this stage I don't think grass would be aggressive enough to retake the lawn so I opted for mint...

It's really a "lesser of two evils" situation! :pac:

lottpaul

My late father planted mint at the end of his garden many years ago and no-one has bothered it since, apart from the odd raid to make mint sauce/jelly a few times a year. It has only spread 2-3 metres at most, and its patchy - just a few spikes every now and again. That said, the smell when you mow it is wonderful. I'm wondering how thick a coverage you'd get from mint alone - you'd just end up with buttercups and mint mixed together

The Pheasant2

lottpaul wrote: »

My late father planted mint at the end of his garden many years ago and no-one has bothered it since, apart from the odd raid to make mint sauce/jelly a few times a year. It has only spread 2-3 metres at most, and its patchy - just a few spikes every now and again. That said, the smell when you mow it is wonderful. I'm wondering how thick a coverage you'd get from mint alone - you'd just end up with buttercups and mint mixed together

Yeah I'm planning on kind of hoeing the buttercups out as much as I can while the mints spreads in the hope that it can gain a foothold before the buttercups return! Ooooh yeah I can't wait till I get some decent coverage and I can have a go at it with the mower

The Pheasant2

Okay so it's been 3 weeks and...to be honest the mint isn't really living up to it's reputation! It's doing some very minor spreading, but I had the impression that I'd spread like wildfire?

Of the 3 plants I planted in the lawn, I'm leaving one grow tall and on the other 2 im clipping the apical growth to try and encourage lateral spreading...anybody got any other tips to help it spread?

Meanwhile the buttercup has been clipped fully and grown back about 6 times over!

Rainwaterman

Mint-for the hills.Its a very invasive plant and herb that will take over everwhere very fast and its an absolute b!tch to get rid of completely.It completely took over my friends back garden after he planted some of it in a herb bed.It spread to the rest of the garden and its the bain of his life now.

Rainwaterman

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

I've a big back garden and threw some bits of unwanted mint down in an unruly corner at the back.
As everyone knows it's invasive but the smell when it gets a belt of the strimmer is amazing!!

I have some of my back garden planted with chamomile grass.Even when you walk on the smell of it is amazing,and when you do give it a clipping its even better to smell.Beautifull flowers on the chamomile and a sight to behold when in full flower and the bees are all over it.

chopper6

If you actually are thinking of using mint as a lawn,be advised it dies back to nothing in the winter...you'll have a tangly patch of mud and not a lawn.

Mollyd90

Whats wrong with buttercups. I think they look quite pretty in a lawn with daisies. My lawn is in ****e by the way.