HERBS > NEPETA
IN THIS GUIDE
NEPETA GUIDES
Catmint is a radical of dependable perennial that can be a great selection for many gardens .
Catmint is perhaps best be intimate for its core on felines , but cat are not the only garden visitant who can be soak by this beautiful and utile flora .
Should you prefer to let in it in your garden , you will shortly see why it is such a popular choice .
Nepeta cataria
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureExposed or shelter
Height0.5 – 1 M
Spread0.5 – 1 M
Bloom TimeJune – October
PreferredChalk , loam , sand
Nepetaxfaassenii
MoistureWell - drained
pHAny
Catmint is the name reach to a number of plants within the Nepeta genus , in the Lamiaceae family.1Nepeta cataria ( Catmint , Catnip , Catswort ) . ( n.d . ) . North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox . Retrieved March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/nepeta-cataria/
N.‘Six Hills Giant’
The vernacular name catmint is given to these species because of the gist they have on domesticated cats .
A chemical substance call nepetalactone in these Nepeta species bear on the olfactive receptors of cats and makes them temporarily euphoric.2Meet the Molecules – Catnip . ( 2020 , September 11 ) . John Innes Centre . recollect March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.jic.ac.uk/blog/meet-the-molecules-catnip/
These plants are usually herbaceous perennials , with tubelike flowers often in lavender - disconsolate chromaticity .
While the term catnip is utilise broadly to a act of mintage within this genus , it can also be used to refer more specifically toNepeta cataria , which is also refer to as ‘ Catnip ’ .
This is said to be the most aromatic catnip , but more ornamentally appealing metal money and cross are available for gardeners .
Why Grow Catmint?
If you need a recurrent plant which will flower well over a long time of year ( late spring to former summertime ) , which gain a great intimate edging or delimitation plant , and which is great for wildlife in your garden , catmint can be an fantabulous choice .
They are loose to grow and very low-spirited maintenance .
Catmint can be used to attract cat-o'-nine-tails to specific voice of your garden to keep them out of vegetable plots and other arena .
It also draw in a extensive range of good wildlife , include butterflies , bees and other pollinators , and good predatory louse which help keep pest population down .
This imply that it can be a great fellow traveler plant for a range of a function of usual crops and other garden works .
Catmint is also ordinarily said to repel a range of insect pestis , such as aphidsand flea beetle , for example – and enquiry shows it may help oneself in holistic and organic pestilence control ( at least to a degree).3Catnip and Catmint . ( 2017 , September 20 ) . Backyard Gardener . Retrieved March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/catnipandcatmint.html
N. catariaalso has a stove of use for us , beyond the garden .
The untried leaves can be eaten in the buff in salad or as a garnish and they have a mint - like flavour .
Common Varieties
There are several different metal money within the Nepeta genus to regard growing in your garden . These include :
How To Grow Catmint
Catmint mostly prefers a internet site in full sun , though some metal money , likeN.subsessiluswill cope with light or dappled nicety .
Most Nepeta coinage will boom in dry and loose - drain soil , thoughN. kubanicaandN. nudado better on dirt which is a morsel moister .
Catmints are usually pretty tolerant of juiceless weather , but can not tolerate for good pixilated stain – in such precondition , moulder can set in .
All catmints will struggle in deep shadiness .
Catmint can be grown in a range of unlike configurations in a garden – it can work well within a cheery herb garden , alongside other herbaceous plant which like cheery and relatively gratis - enfeeble conditions .
It can also work well as edging around a productive one-year garden bed , along a nerve tract , or as edging for a terrace or paved area .
Alternatively , it can also be integrate into perennial beds or borders alongside other flowering perennial plant .
In small blank space , catmint canalso be grow in pots .
“ Nepeta x faaseniiis a smaller cross that grows to a maximum of around 50 cm x 50 cm , ” read RHS MHort Colin Skelly , “ making it ideal for growing in stack where it will require a lower limit of maintenance . ”
Catmint can be sown in March or April , and planted out in May or June .
Pot - grow plants can also be purchased throughout the class , though the best clock time to plant these out is in the spring or fall .
you could also plant out in summer though it will be important to keep the new industrial plant well - watered during teetotal periods until they have become established .
Most Nepeta cataria should be space anywhere between 30 - 60 cm apart , though this will vary depending on the species and specific variety you have chosen .
In a herb garden , grow catmint withrosemary , thyme , oregano , oregano , Hyssopus officinalis , sage , etc .
You could grow catnip as a border companion flora around yearly yield and vegetable bottom .
Or , turn catnip at the front of a fruit Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree social club to attract good insects and potentially aid with repelling sure pest species too .
In repeated seam or borders , consider planting catmints with , for example :
Catmint Plant Care
When Nepeta is place appropriately , it is a keen choice for a low - sustenance recurrent garden scheme .
Though it will flower and look skillful over a long period , it will take up very little of your time .
Newly planted catnip should be irrigate well during dry spells during governance .
After this full point of fourth dimension , the plants will largely hold enough water from rain and will require niggling ongoing care .
These easy - going perennials , when localise in the right positions , should take up very small of your fourth dimension and will be a mellow - note value addition to your garden .
If you are growing catnip in container , remember that you will have to water a bit more oftentimes than when plants are grown in the ground .
Nepeta blossom over a long period from late springtime to late summertime , but it is a good estimate , for the best blooms , to dress them back after flowering , as this will keep the plant life neat and promote further efflorescence .
Once the ontogeny dies back in the late autumn , it is best , in a wildlife - friendly garden , to leave the remaining foliage in shoes until spring .
The dead leaves are a hibernation blot for ladybirds and other creatures , so leave further cut back until early spring so they have a in effect spot to overwinter .
Catmint physique big , congested clumps over prison term , and efflorescence can fall .
To prevent this from happening , it is a in effect mind to divide the clumps every few years , once you spot a obtrusive decline in flowering .
Of of course , class of mature plants does not just give the subsist plant a unexampled lease of life – it also allows you to propagate new catmint plant life to give away , or post more elsewhere in your garden .
Common Problems
Catmints will usually be hassle - barren and do n’t in the main have a lot of issues with pests or diseases .
Cats which are attract to the catnip may roll around on it and damage a lump , but will not commonly put down the plants altogether .
Slugs can occasionally be an egress with young Nepeta cataria plant – to foreclose flora losses and keep poke numbers down , check that you have plenty of wildlife that eat biff in your garden .
If necessary , keep an eye out and remove slugs by hand , or place slug traps if there is a austere trouble .
When the summertime is very dry , powdery mould can sometimes pass off and you may see a white coating on the leaves and stems and once in a while , there may be dieback .
If this happens , cut off , gather up and remove dissemble plant stuff as soon as possible to prevent its further spread .
As you’re able to see from the above , catnip can be a wonderful option for a range of options , and are a low-toned - campaign , high - advantage works choice for many cheery gardens .
