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In the pot I see small lumps that look like rocks, but they crush like dirt. Additionally, there's fuzz on the main stem that looks like a spider's web. Finally (what a brown thumb I've got) there's what looks to be red-orange creep near the base of the plant.

I'm pretty sure it's got web blight, but I'm a new gardener and wanted to be sure.

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The red growth at the base of the plant is sphagnum moss, which has probably been included in the potting mix if its been made with sphagnum moss peat - you might be able to pull it off without destroying the roots of the mint, depends whether the moss is mixed in or just sitting on top. Either way, it won't harm the mint, but the fact its growing in this way may indicate you're either overwatering or the soil in the pot is generally wet, or drainage is poor. Water when the surface of the potting mix is just about dry to the touch, water thoroughly, then empty any outer tray or container after 30 minutes, so the plant isn't left standing in water.

I can't see any webbing - I can see short hairs at the base of the mint stems in some places, but that's quite normal. The foliage and stems I can see look to be pretty healthy, no obvious problems, and no evidence of web blight - the lumps could be fertilizer pellets, perlite or vermiculite, or just clumped up, lumpy soil, or some other component of whatever potting medium has been used. I've got one question though - it looks as if the base of the plant is slightly proud of the surrounding potting mix. It might just be a trick of the light in the photograph, or the extra height of the layer of growth where the sphagnum moss is, but if you potted the plant on into this mix, ensure it isn't standing up above the surrounding soil level.

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  • Ah. I see. There's some more dense hair or webbing at the central part of the stem, but you can see it in that picture, so if your diagnosis is negative, I'll rest assured. The plant is quite healthy and I've had to trim to keep it from overgrowing. The instructions were to place it in a saucer, fill the saucer with water, and let the soil absorb it from the bottom. I'll follow your instructions from now on. Also, the soil was level with the plant base when I bought it, and it has receded slowly to where it is now. Not sure why though.
    – Bronze
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 22:52
  • The likely explanation for the slight drop in soil level is that its only recently been potted up by whoever sold it, and it wasn't firmed down well, so its settled over time. You'll likely need to split the plant and pot on at some point this year anyway, so as long as it doesn't drop further, it'll be fine.
    – Bamboo
    Commented Mar 2, 2016 at 11:17

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