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6 live bare root plants with 5–6" stems Field grown in Brattleboro, Vermont Washed clean of soil, mailed in moist medium
The showiest mint in the field, and the one people notice first in spring. Ginger mint's leaves come up green with translucent gold streaking running along the veins — not an edge variegation like pineapple mint, but a marbling that looks like light coming through the leaf. Broad, smooth, pointed leaves on reddish stems.
The gold is temperature-driven. It's at its brightest in the cool weather of early spring and again in fall, and it fades toward plain green through the heat of high summer. That's normal and expected, not a defect — and if you cut the plant back hard after it flowers, the fresh growth comes in gold again.
Despite the name it doesn't smell of ginger. The scent is spearmint-adjacent with fruity overtones and a faint warm spice note, which is presumably where the name came from. It's a genuinely useful kitchen mint that happens to be the best-looking plant in the herb bed.
Also sold under the names golden apple mint, Scotch mint, and Emerald and Gold.
Botanical name:Mentha × gracilis 'Variegata'
Also known as: Golden apple mint, Scotch mint, Emerald and Gold
Flavor / Scent: Spearmint-like, fruity, faint warm spice
Best for: Ornamental planting, tea, cooking, garnish
Variegation: Gold streaking along veins — brightest in cool weather, fades in summer heat
USDA Zones: 5–9
Light: Full sun to part shade — best color in full sun
Height: 12–18 in
Spread: Slow at first, then vigorous via rhizome
Mentha × gracilis is a hybrid of corn mint (Mentha arvensis) and spearmint (Mentha spicata), and the 'Variegata' cultivar is one of the few mints grown as much for looks as for flavor. The gold streaking is a form of variegation that responds to temperature rather than being fixed — cool conditions produce it, summer heat suppresses it, and hard pruning after flowering triggers a fresh flush of golden growth. Gardeners who don't know this often assume the plant has reverted or that they were sold the wrong thing, when it's simply doing what it does.
The common name is a small mystery. It has no botanical relationship to ginger (Zingiber officinale) and doesn't particularly taste of it. The most likely explanation is the golden colouring rather than the scent.
Source: RHS — Mentha × gracilis 'Variegata' | Chicago Botanic Garden — Mentha × gracilis 'Variegata'
6 live bare root plants with 5–6" stems Field grown in Brattleboro, Vermont Washed clean of soil, mailed in moist medium
The showiest mint in the field, and the one people notice first in spring. Ginger mint's leaves come up green with translucent gold streaking running along the veins — not an edge variegation like pineapple mint, but a marbling that looks like light coming through the leaf. Broad, smooth, pointed leaves on reddish stems.
The gold is temperature-driven. It's at its brightest in the cool weather of early spring and again in fall, and it fades toward plain green through the heat of high summer. That's normal and expected, not a defect — and if you cut the plant back hard after it flowers, the fresh growth comes in gold again.
Despite the name it doesn't smell of ginger. The scent is spearmint-adjacent with fruity overtones and a faint warm spice note, which is presumably where the name came from. It's a genuinely useful kitchen mint that happens to be the best-looking plant in the herb bed.
Also sold under the names golden apple mint, Scotch mint, and Emerald and Gold.
Botanical name:Mentha × gracilis 'Variegata'
Also known as: Golden apple mint, Scotch mint, Emerald and Gold
Flavor / Scent: Spearmint-like, fruity, faint warm spice
Best for: Ornamental planting, tea, cooking, garnish
Variegation: Gold streaking along veins — brightest in cool weather, fades in summer heat
USDA Zones: 5–9
Light: Full sun to part shade — best color in full sun
Height: 12–18 in
Spread: Slow at first, then vigorous via rhizome
Mentha × gracilis is a hybrid of corn mint (Mentha arvensis) and spearmint (Mentha spicata), and the 'Variegata' cultivar is one of the few mints grown as much for looks as for flavor. The gold streaking is a form of variegation that responds to temperature rather than being fixed — cool conditions produce it, summer heat suppresses it, and hard pruning after flowering triggers a fresh flush of golden growth. Gardeners who don't know this often assume the plant has reverted or that they were sold the wrong thing, when it's simply doing what it does.
The common name is a small mystery. It has no botanical relationship to ginger (Zingiber officinale) and doesn't particularly taste of it. The most likely explanation is the golden colouring rather than the scent.
Source: RHS — Mentha × gracilis 'Variegata' | Chicago Botanic Garden — Mentha × gracilis 'Variegata'