Mint rust: how to spot, prevent and treat it disease
How do you spot mint rust?
In spring the shoots are pale and distorted. On the stems and leaves there are dusty orange pustules, followed by yellow and then black ones. Large areas of leaf tissue die and the plant sheds its leaves.
How do you prevent mint rust?
The fungus overwinters in the rhizome and in resting spores in the soil, so healthy planting material is everything. Move new shoots to another spot, away from infected rhizomes, and do not propagate from an affected plant. An airy spacing and cleared fallen leaves lower the pressure.
What works against mint rust?
For edible herbs there are no fungicides against this. Remove affected plants before the spores develop and destroy infected rhizomes. The rhizomes of healthy plants can be disinfected in a hot water bath (44 °C, ten minutes).
Which plants get mint rust? 2
Herbs 2
Sources: EPPO Global Database, Royal Horticultural Society
Checked on 17 August 2026.