Description of Mentha cervina (Hart's Pennyroyal)

Mentha cervina is Hart’s pennyroyal, sometimes sold as Preslia cervina. It’s a mint for wet ground with a finer, neater habit than water mint, and it suits bog edges where you want scent without big leaves.

Appearance

Stems are slender with narrow leaves. In summer it produces small lilac-pink flower whorls along the stems. It usually reaches 30 to 60cm and can form a loose patch in damp soil.

Care Guide

It likes constant moisture and full sun for the best growth. Like many mints, it can spread if you let it.

• Sun: Full sun to part shade.
• Soil: Moist to wet soil with organic matter.
• Water: Keep consistently damp.
• Control: Grow in a container or trim runners to keep it in bounds.
• Cut back: Trim after flowering for fresh growth and a tidier patch.

Harvesting tip: pick young tips before flowering for the clearest scent.

Suitability for Bog Garden

This is a good bog garden plant for the upper edge and damp paths, where you’ll brush past and notice the scent. It also sits well among sedges and low rushes because it doesn’t look bulky.

If you want a tidy layout, keep it in a pot sunk into the bog, then lift to divide or reduce when needed.

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