Peppermint Seeds Vilmorin - Intense Aroma, Easy to Grow

Peppermint Seed Packet Vilmorin (Reference: 5877946) represents the very best of French herb seed. This peppermint variety, heir to a thousand-year-old tradition going back to Greek mythology, combines perfectly the culinary and therapeutic qualities sought by amateur and professional gardeners. Vilmorin, an essential reference since 1743, brings you seed selected for its varietal purity and its excellent germination rate.

A versatile herb with many benefits

Peppermint is the herb you cannot do without for anyone who loves fresh, flavoursome cooking. Its intense, refreshing scent brings a new dimension to your creations. It lifts fruit desserts such as strawberries or pineapple, turning every mouthful into a burst of freshness. Lovers of summer grilling will appreciate how perfectly it accompanies meats, while drinks enthusiasts will discover its exceptional qualities in iced teas, mojitos and other refreshing cocktails.

Beyond its culinary qualities, this aromatic plant has digestive properties recognised since Antiquity. Its presence in the garden draws in pollinating insects while naturally deterring certain pests, making it a valuable ally of ecological gardening.

Botanical features and characteristics

This top-quality herb seed produces a robust perennial plant of the Lamiaceae family. Vilmorin peppermint stands out for its toothed leaves of a deep green, giving off a powerful, characteristic scent at the slightest touch. Its vigorous growth lets it reach 40 to 80 cm in height quickly, forming particularly decorative dense clumps.

The plant develops a creeping root system that gives it excellent drought resistance once established. Its square stems, typical of the Lamiaceae, carry opposite leaves rich in essential oils, concentrated mainly in the glands on the underside of the blade.

The summer flowering produces small purplish flowers grouped in terminal spikes, very rich in nectar and much appreciated by bees and butterflies.

Simple growing and care

Peppermint is sown from March to June, in a seedbed or directly in place depending on your region. This plant adapts to every soil type but prefers cool, humus-rich ground, slightly moist. A partly shaded position is ideal, though full light is tolerated with regular watering.

Germination usually takes 10 to 15 days at a temperature of 18-20°C. The young plants can be transplanted as soon as they reach 5-6 cm in height, keeping a spacing of 30 cm between each plant.

Care comes down to regular watering in dry spells and removing the flowers to encourage leaf growth. Picking can start 2 months after sowing and carries on until the first frosts. The leaves are best picked in the morning, once the dew has gone, to keep all their aroma.

Expert advice and garden pairings

To get the most from your peppermint, plant it in tubs or sunken pots so you can keep its naturally invasive growth in check. This method also makes it easy to move it as your cooking needs or your garden change.

Pair your mint with other Mediterranean herbs from our Multitanks range: basil, parsley, chives. This combination creates a genuinely productive and attractive herb bed. Do avoid, however, planting anything directly next to the mint, as it can hold back the growth of certain plants through allelopathy.

For the best keeping, pick the leaves before flowering, when their essential oil content is at its highest. Drying them in the shade somewhere airy preserves their aromatic qualities. Freezing them in ice-cube trays filled with water is an excellent alternative for having fresh mint all year round.

Do consider rounding out your set-up with our Gardena watering systems to maintain the moisture it needs, and our specialist herb fertilisers, which will boost the production of essential oils.

Technical specifications