Catnip

Catnip is one plant I have added to the garden in recent years. Before you turn your nose up at this herb, you have to understand the flower breeders have been working their magic and this is now an excellent garden perennial.

Cats and Catnip

Interestingly enough, cats generally only bother plants that have been bruised and releasing the distinctive fragrance of this member of the mint family. The old garden saying, 'If you set it, the cats will eat it. If you sow it, the cats won't know it.” is true.

How to Grow

Catnip or Nepeta varieties range in height from one to three feet tall and they all do best in full sun or very light shade.

They bloom in early to mid summer in shades of whites and blue-violets. Like most perennials, they grow best in a well-drained sandy soil but one where adequate amounts of water are available to produce blooms.

Mulching and applying compost every spring will keep these plants alive and blooming for years.

Hybrids

Nepeta 'Dropmore Blue'

One of the things that always confused me was that N x faassenii is a sterile garden clone and is the classic 18 inch tall, pale lavender blue garden plant. How the botanists decided to name other plants after this sterile clone is beyond my understanding but they have. My recommendation however is not to try starting your own seed labeled with this name as the resulting catnip plants have always been poor performers in my garden when compared to the following varieties.
I would purchase named hybrid varieties (and have) choosing from the following good ones.

'Blue Beauty' is 18 to 24 inches tall but is a long blooming variety. The flowers are a deep lavender-blue and don't require staking.

'Bramdean' is well shaped – not leggy at all - and has lavender blue flowers for an extended bloom time.

N. racemosa - a twelve to eighteen inch tall catnip are worthy of garden space

'Walker's Low' has dark mauve flowers and has been extremely long flowering in my garden. is similarly long flowering with its soft powdery blue flowers while 'Little Titch' is mauve blue and extremely ground-hugging

N. grandiflora is my favorite Nepeta. It grows to 36 inches tall in my garden and with a bit of support from nearby plants, stands upright to give a wonderful display of blue-violet flowers.

N. x sintenisii 'Six Hills Giant' is another superb catnip garden performer - one of the best garden plants in this family. Its deep violet-blue flowers are quite spectacular on eighteen to twenty four inch tall plants.

N x hybrida 'Dropmore Blue' (pictured) is an excellent Canadian introduction. At 12 inches, it is among the longest blooming Nepeta and its bright blue flowers are excellent in containers.

N. subsessilis or Japanese Catmint. This one has fragrant glossy green leaves with violet blue flowers that almost last all summer. Excellent although sometimes a bit hard to find at garden centers.

So – simply remember that catnip is for the garden and the cats will have to learn to share it.

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