Fertilising guide

How to fertilise Corsican Mint (Mentha requienii)— schedule & NPK

Also called Creeping Mint.

More about corsican mint

About Corsican Mint

Mentha requienii · also called Creeping Mint · herb

Corsican Mint is a tiny, ground-hugging mint with minute bright-green leaves and an intense peppermint scent released when stepped on, prized as a fragrant lawn substitute and between pavers. Unlike its tall cousins it forms a flat creeping carpet, needs moist soil and shelter, and is less cold-hardy, often grown as a short-lived perennial or annual.

Growth habit: Mat-forming, prostrate creeping perennial just a few centimetres high, rooting as it spreads and studded with tiny pale lilac summer flowers.

What fertiliser corsican mint actually wants — and why

Corsican Mint is a lean, aromatic herb — the essential-oil flavour you grow it for is strongest in poor soil, so feeding it actively makes it worse.

Little or nothing. If anything, a very weak balanced feed or a thin compost top-dress — never a rich nitrogen feed, which dilutes the aromatic oils and produces soft, bland, floppy growth.

For the language behind the three numbers on the bottle — what nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium each do — see the NPK ratio explained entry. The short version for corsican mint: match the feed to the job the plant is doing right now, not to a generic “plant food” on the shelf.

How often to feed corsican mint, and which months

Feeding only earns its keep while the plant is in active growth and can use the nutrients — pour feed into a dormant or low-light plant and it simply builds up as root-burning salt. For corsican mint:

Very light feeder. A weak balanced liquid feed once or twice during the growing season, or a thin compost mulch, is enough. This delicate plant is easily harmed by strong fertilizer, so err on the side of less. In practice: a spring compost top-dress at most, and otherwise leave corsican mint unfed — lean, sharp-draining soil is exactly what concentrates its flavour.

The dormant-season rule matters more than the exact interval: skip feeding entirely when corsican mint is resting. For the wider context on indoor feeding rhythms across the seasons, the houseplant fertiliser schedule walks through the year month by month.

What strength to mix for corsican mint

As weak as it gets for corsican mint, or none at all. The flavour-versus-growth trade-off runs the opposite way to leafy crops: restraint is the technique.

Feeding always goes onto already-damp soil, never dry roots — water corsican mint first if the soil is dry, then apply the diluted feed. The companion question is when to water at all, covered in the corsican mint watering schedule.

Signs you are over-feeding corsican mint

Over-feeding is far more common — and more damaging — than under-feeding for most plants. The classic tells for corsican mint:

Lush, soft, fast growth with noticeably weaker scent and flavour.
Floppy stems, sparse essential oils, and poor cold/wet hardiness.
Salt crust in containers and scorched leaf tips from over-feeding.

Signs you are under-feeding corsican mint

Rare — these herbs thrive on lean soil.
Only on truly exhausted soil: pale, thin, very slow growth.
A short-lived, weak plant in a long-spent container.

If the symptoms point at watering, light or roots rather than nutrition, the full corsican mint care brief covers soil, humidity and the common problems for this species.

Flushing and leaching the salts

Over-feeding is so unlikely with corsican mint that flushing is rarely needed; if a container has had feed, a single plain-water flush and a switch to a leaner, grittier mix resets it.

Organic vs synthetic feeds for corsican mint

Organic options

A thin spring mulch of garden compost or leaf-mould is the most these want. UK: a little garden compost; US: a light Espoma Garden-tone top-dress at most. Lean and gritty beats fed and rich every time.

Synthetic / liquid feeds

Generally none for corsican mint. At absolute most, a very dilute balanced feed once or twice in a container; in the ground, nothing — synthetic feeds work directly against the flavour.

Brand names are examples, not endorsements, and UK and US ranges differ — check the label’s own NPK and dilution rate, since formulations change.

Fertilising corsican mint — frequently asked questions

What fertiliser does corsican mint need?

Little or nothing. If anything, a very weak balanced feed or a thin compost top-dress — never a rich nitrogen feed, which dilutes the aromatic oils and produces soft, bland, floppy growth. Corsican Mint is a lean, aromatic herb — the essential-oil flavour you grow it for is strongest in poor soil, so feeding it actively makes it worse.

How often should I feed corsican mint?

Very light feeder. A weak balanced liquid feed once or twice during the growing season, or a thin compost mulch, is enough. This delicate plant is easily harmed by strong fertilizer, so err on the side of less. Very light feeder. A weak balanced liquid feed once or twice during the growing season, or a thin compost mulch, is enough. This delicate plant is easily harmed by strong fertilizer, so err on the side of less. In practice: a spring compost top-dress at most, and otherwise leave corsican mint unfed — lean, sharp-draining soil is exactly what concentrates its flavour.

What strength of feed for corsican mint?