Apple mint (Mentha suaveolens) is a very beautiful softly‑hairy perennial mint known for its sweet, fruity, apple‑like scent and vigorous growth. It’s one of the most tactile and aromatic mints, widely grown for culinary use, teas, jellies, and ornamental planting. I also use it to add depth and aroma in cut flower displays.
The foliage is aromatic with a fruity, minty flavour, milder and more floral than spearmint or peppermint. Crushing the leaves releases a green‑apple fragrance.
40–100 cm tall with light green, wrinkled, softly hairy leaves that are oblong to ovate, typically 3–5 cm long and 2–4 cm wide. Leaves are downy underneath with serrated edges, giving the plant a fuzzy, silvery appearance. Produces white to pale pink flowers in terminal spikes 4–9 cm long, appearing mid to late summer and attracting bees and butterflies.
Has a very upright habit which is hardy and easy to grow in UK conditions.
Happy in full sun to partial shade, prefers moist but well‑drained soil.
Apple mint’s long flowering period supports bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and its dense foliage provides micro‑habitats for beneficial insects.
