Spearmint and peppermint are the two mints almost everyone grows, and they’re often mixed up — yet they taste, look, and behave differently enough that picking the right one matters for your cooking and your garden. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is the milder, sweeter, “herbal” mint: low in menthol, with bright spear-shaped leaves, and it’s the mint you want for mojitos, tabbouleh, lamb, peas, and fresh salads. Peppermint (Mentha × piperita) is actually a natural hybrid of spearmint and watermint, and it’s loaded with menthol, giving it that sharp, intensely cool, candy-cane bite; it shines in teas, desserts, chocolate, and anything where you want that icy hit. Both are vigorous perennial herbs that will happily take over a bed if you let them, and both grow the same way — so the real decision is about flavor and how you’ll use them. This guide breaks down exactly how to tell the two apart by leaf, taste, and aroma, what each is best for, and how to grow and contain both successfully.
In this guide
Key Takeaways
- Spearmint is mild, sweet, and low in menthol — best for savory dishes, salads, and cocktails.
- Peppermint is sharp and intensely cool thanks to high menthol — best for teas, desserts, and chocolate.
- Peppermint is a sterile hybrid of spearmint and watermint, so it rarely sets seed and is grown from cuttings or divisions.
- Spearmint leaves are bright green, pointed, and nearly stalkless; peppermint leaves are darker with a reddish-purple stem tinge.
- Both are aggressive spreaders — grow them in containers or sink a barrier to keep them in bounds.
| Feature | Spearmint | Peppermint |
|---|---|---|
| Botanical name | Mentha spicata | Mentha × piperita (hybrid) |
| Menthol level | Low — mild, sweet | High — sharp, cooling |
| Flavor | Gentle, grassy, slightly sweet | Strong, peppery, icy-cool |
| Leaves | Bright green, lance/spear-shaped, crinkled, nearly stalkless | Darker green, often purple-tinged stems, short leaf stalks |
| Stems | Green, square | Square, frequently reddish-purple |
| Seeds | Sets viable seed | Sterile hybrid — rarely seeds true |
| Best for | Savory dishes, salads, mojitos, sauces | Tea, desserts, chocolate, candy |
Spearmint
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is the original, milder mint, named for its pointed, spear-shaped leaves. Its defining trait is a low menthol content, which keeps the flavor gentle, faintly sweet, and grassy rather than icy — the carvone in its oil gives that classic “spearmint gum” taste without the throat-cooling burn. The leaves are bright green, lance-shaped with a serrated edge, conspicuously crinkled or puckered, and attach almost directly to the square green stem with little or no leaf stalk. It flowers in slender purple-to-white spikes in summer. Because its flavor is restrained, spearmint is the cook’s mint: it complements savory food without overpowering it.
Reach for spearmint when you want mint as a fresh herb rather than a flavor bomb. It’s the right choice for tabbouleh and other Middle Eastern salads, for peas and new potatoes, for lamb and yogurt sauces, for mint chutney, and for cocktails like the mojito and mint julep where you want brightness, not menthol. It also makes a pleasant, gentle tea. Because spearmint sets viable seed, you can occasionally grow it from seed, though named varieties are most reliably propagated from cuttings or divisions to keep the flavor true.
Peppermint
Peppermint (Mentha × piperita) is a natural hybrid between spearmint and watermint, and that cross is what gives it punch. It is rich in menthol — often well over a third of its essential oil — which produces the sharp, peppery, intensely cooling sensation you know from candy canes, toothpaste, and after-dinner mints. The taste is much stronger and more “medicinal-fresh” than spearmint, with a cold finish that lingers. Visually, peppermint leaves tend to be darker green, sometimes with a faint purple cast, carried on short stalks, and the square stems are frequently tinged reddish-purple — a handy field clue to separate it from green-stemmed spearmint. It blooms in summer with purplish flower spikes.
Peppermint’s intensity makes it the dessert-and-drink mint. It’s ideal for hot and iced peppermint tea, for pairing with chocolate (think peppermint bark and brownies), for ice cream and candies, and anywhere you want that bold cooling hit. It’s generally too strong to use as a subtle savory herb the way spearmint is. One practical quirk: because peppermint is a sterile hybrid, it rarely produces viable seed — so any “peppermint” sold as seed is suspect, and the only reliable way to get true peppermint is from cuttings, divisions, or a started plant.
How to tell them apart in the garden
The fastest test is to taste a leaf: if it’s mild and sweet, it’s spearmint; if it hits you with a strong, cold, menthol rush, it’s peppermint. For visual ID, check three things. First, the stems — spearmint stems are green, while peppermint stems usually carry a reddish or purplish tinge. Second, the leaf attachment — spearmint leaves sit almost directly on the stem with little or no stalk, while peppermint leaves have a short but distinct stalk. Third, the leaf texture and shape — spearmint leaves are noticeably crinkled and spear-pointed and bright green, while peppermint leaves are smoother, darker, and a bit broader. Crush a leaf and smell it, too: spearmint smells sweet and herbal, peppermint smells sharp and cool. These clues together will reliably separate the two even before flowering.
How to grow spearmint and peppermint
The good news is that both mints grow identically and are nearly foolproof — they’re hardy perennials in USDA zones 3–9. Give them full sun to part shade (afternoon shade is welcome in hot climates) and consistently moist, rich soil; mint descends from watermint’s wet-meadow ancestors and dislikes drying out, so water whenever the top inch goes dry. Plant from a nursery start, a rooted cutting, or a division in spring, spacing plants 18–24 inches apart. Mint roots readily — you can snip a healthy stem, strip the lower leaves, and root it in a glass of water within a week or two, which is the standard way to propagate peppermint since it won’t come true from seed.
The one real warning with any mint is its aggressiveness. Both spread by underground runners (rhizomes) that can colonize an entire bed and crowd out neighbors in a single season. The standard solution is to grow mint in a container — a pot on the patio or a buried bottomless bucket — or to sink a deep root barrier around the planting. Even in a pot, watch for runners escaping over the rim. Harvest by pinching stems regularly, which keeps plants bushy; the flavor is strongest just before flowering, so cut leaves before the blooms open, and shear plants back hard if they get leggy or flower. Mint is also a great candidate for container herb gardening generally — for the broader approach, see our take on choosing the right potting medium in raised bed soil vs potting soil, and if your potted mint gets stretched and floppy, the same fixes in our guide to leggy growth apply: more light and regular pinching.
Can you grow them together?
You can, but keep them in separate containers. Two reasons: first, both are bullies, and side by side in open soil the more vigorous one will eventually dominate; second, mints cross-pollinate and hybridize freely, so if you ever let them seed near each other you can end up with muddled, off-flavored offspring. Separate pots also make harvesting cleaner — you’ll never grab peppermint when your mojito needs spearmint. If you only have room for one, choose based on use: pick spearmint if you cook savory food and make cocktails, and peppermint if you mainly want tea, desserts, and that bold cooling flavor. Many gardeners simply grow both in matching pots, which gives you the full range of mint flavors with none of the takeover risk.
Harvesting, storing, and other mints
Both mints are most flavorful when harvested in the morning after the dew dries but before the day heats up, and the oils peak just before the plants flower — so pinch stems regularly to delay blooming and keep the leaves at their best. Cut whole stems rather than stripping individual leaves; this encourages branching and a bushier plant. To store fresh mint, stand the cut stems in a glass of water on the counter like a bouquet, or wrap them loosely in a damp paper towel in the fridge for up to a week. For long-term storage, mint dries well — hang small bundles in a dark, airy spot or use a dehydrator on low — though dried mint loses some of its brightness, so many cooks prefer to freeze chopped leaves in ice-cube trays with a little water for sauces and drinks. Both spearmint and peppermint dry and freeze the same way.
It’s also worth knowing that “spearmint” and “peppermint” are just the two most common faces of a large, promiscuous genus. There are dozens of named mints — chocolate mint (a peppermint type with a faint cocoa note), apple mint, pineapple mint, orange mint, and Moroccan mint (a spearmint prized for tea) among them — and because mints hybridize so readily, the lines between them can blur. If you buy a plant simply labeled “mint,” it’s most often a spearmint or a spearmint hybrid, since true peppermint must be propagated vegetatively. When flavor really matters for a recipe, buy a plant by its specific cultivar name from a reputable source rather than trusting a generic “mint” label, and taste before you commit a whole dish to it.
The verdict
Choose spearmint if you want a mild, sweet, versatile culinary herb for savory dishes, salads, sauces, and refreshing cocktails — it plays well with food and won’t overwhelm. Choose peppermint if you want bold, cooling, menthol-forward flavor for teas, chocolate, desserts, and candies. To tell them apart, taste for menthol intensity, check for peppermint’s reddish stems and stalked leaves versus spearmint’s green stems and crinkled, nearly stalkless foliage, and sniff for sweet (spearmint) versus sharp-cool (peppermint). Grow either one in a container with rich, moist soil and plenty of sun, propagate peppermint from cuttings since it won’t seed true, and keep both contained so they don’t conquer the garden. Honestly, the best answer for most gardeners is to grow both in separate pots — they’re easy, productive, and cover every mint craving from your tea to your tabbouleh.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the main difference between spearmint and peppermint?
Menthol. Peppermint is high in menthol, giving it a sharp, intensely cooling, peppery flavor, while spearmint is low in menthol and tastes mild and sweet. That’s why peppermint suits teas, candy, and chocolate, and spearmint suits savory cooking, salads, and cocktails.
How can I tell which mint I have growing?
Taste a leaf — strong and cold means peppermint, mild and sweet means spearmint. Visually, peppermint usually has reddish-purple stems and stalked, darker leaves; spearmint has green stems and bright, crinkled, spear-shaped leaves that sit almost directly on the stem.
Can I grow peppermint from seed?
Not reliably. Peppermint is a sterile hybrid of spearmint and watermint, so it rarely produces true seed; packets labeled “peppermint seed” often grow into something else. Propagate it from cuttings, divisions, or a started plant instead. Spearmint, by contrast, does grow from seed.
Why does mint take over the garden?
Both mints spread aggressively by underground runners that send up new shoots across a wide area. Grow mint in a pot or a buried bottomless container, or install a deep root barrier, and watch for runners escaping over the rim, to keep it from smothering nearby plants.
Can spearmint and peppermint be planted together?
Keep them in separate containers. In shared soil the more vigorous plant tends to dominate, and mints cross-pollinate freely, so allowing them to seed near each other can produce muddled, off-flavored offspring. Separate pots also make it easy to grab the right mint for each recipe.