Select Blue Catmint, also known as Nepeta ‘Select Blue,’ is a wonderful xeric perennial with stunning lavender-blue blooms and attractive gray-green leaves. The first flush of flowers on this perennial bloomer appears in late spring, followed by another later in the summer. This perennial has a long lifespan and is simple to grow, making it a great choice for novices.
Which Nepeta has the most blooms?
Crushed foliage has a strong perfume that is spicy and minty. Growing in arid, lean soil produces the strongest scent.
Don’t fertilize, particularly in richer soils. The flower stems will droop and produce fewer flowers if there is too much fertilizer applied.
Upkeep: Almost entirely free of maintenance. For a fresh rush of flowers in August, spent summer blossoms can be shorn off in the middle of the season. every three to four years, or if the plant starts to lose vigor.
Alternative: Draws pollinators and butterflies. resistant to deer and rabbits. slight salt tolerance
The “Six Hills Giant” One of the tallest catmints is called Nepeta. Because it is more resilient to moist environments and simpler to grow next to thirstier plants, “Six Hills Giant” is a favorite among gardeners. Additionally, it has one of the Nepeta’s longest blooming periods.
Strong, fragrant leaves with a broad growth pattern. The gorgeous violet blue blossoms of the catmint have the longest blooming season. ‘Six Hills Giant’ produces a lot of flowers in June and July, but they last far into the fall. These broad plants make a good ground cover for big estates and are great for slopes that frequently experience heat and dryness.
Cut the plant back in the early spring to just 6 inches above the ground. Every three to four years, when vigor and blossoming wane, divide. Since “Six Hills Giant” is sterile, division is another method of reproduction.
Average well-drained soil that can handle sandy and dry conditions is what the soil needs. pH neutral.
Small, oval, soft gray-green leaves on solitary stems make up the foliage. The dwarf plant’s stature is appropriate for the relatively small size of the leaves.
A charming dwarf catmint called “Kit Cat” is ideal for front borders and smaller gardens. The small plant looks beautiful planted among rocks on a slope, along garden stairs, or even in pots as a garden border. While ‘Kit Cat’ will benefit from little afternoon shade in hot Southern climes, full sun is ideal in cooler climates.
‘Kit Cat’ blossoms are tiny but abundant, and when they are in bloom, they produce a thick blue cloud. After the blooms have faded, trim back to promote another flush for the end of summer. ‘Kit Cat’ works well in your garden beds that need a little moisture because it is not quite as drought tolerant as most Nepeta. Cut back the plant before the first flower stalks appear for an even more compact plant.
Average well-drained soil is required; it tolerates dry clay as well as poor, rocky soil. pH neutral.
What Nepeta is the bluest?
Select Blue Catmint, also known as Nepeta ‘Select Blue,’ is a wonderful xeric perennial with stunning lavender-blue blooms and attractive gray-green leaves. The first flush of flowers on this perennial bloomer appears in late spring, followed by another later in the summer. This perennial has a long lifespan and is simple to grow, making it a great choice for novices.
Are catmint and nepeta the same thing?
These two plants can be mistaken for one another by using different names, although they are actually distinct species. Catnip is Nepeta cataria, while catmint is Nepeta mussinii, both of which are members of the mint family. The following are some further variations and parallels between the two plants:
While catmint is frequently used as a lovely, flowering perennial in beds, catnip has a weedier aspect.
Catnip blooms less frequently than catmint. Typically, catnip blooms are white. Flowers on catmint are lavender.
What Nepeta is the shortest?
Little Titch is a small-sized catmint plant, growing only 8 to 10 inches tall and around 15 inches wide. For small garden areas, this clumping plant is preferable to a larger plant like the 6 Hills Giant catmint, which can be quite intimidating. Little Titch has fragrant foliage and an abundance of violet-lavender flowers. It has a moderate growth rate and dense leaves.
Which catmint plant is the best?
This choice shares an improved neat habit with “Cat’s Meow,” although being a little bit smaller and more compact in size overall. ‘Purrsian Blue’ develops a compact, flawlessly spherical, thickly branching clump of tiny, green leaves in its first year. The plant keeps its small mounding habit in year two, but nearly doubles its spread to just over two feet.
This is a particularly floriferous variety whose bloom power is enhanced by the close proximity of its blossoms on the stems. From early summer to early fall, periwinkle blue flowers are protected by dark purple calyxes that grow just above the fragrant foliage.
The modern gardener’s dream perennial, “Purrisan Blue,” is drought tolerant, deer resistant, long blooming, and attractive all year round.
Nepeta is commonly known as Catmint because when its stems are broken, an aroma that tends to draw cats is released into the air.
Is Nepeta Purrsian blue a perennial shade?
Nepeta faassenii ‘Purrsian Blue’ (Catmint), a compact herbaceous perennial that is prized for its orderly habit, forms a thick, spherical cluster of tiny, fragrant, gray-green leaves all season long. The foliage is topped with well-branched stems that bear magnificent spikes of periwinkle blue flowers with purple calyces from early summer to early fall. Catmint is a fantastic garden plant since it is very floriferous, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and has a lengthy season of interest. To create a garden landscape that is bursting with color and to savor its mint aroma when bruised, plant in huge drifts along a walkway.
- usually spreads out in clumps, growing up to 14 to 18 inches (35 to 45 cm) tall and 18 to 30 inches broad (45-75 cm).
- The ideal growing conditions are ordinary, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. In hot summer climates, offer some mild shade in the afternoon.
- This outstanding performer is amazingly low-maintenance, highly adaptable, and may be utilized in a variety of settings, including the front of perennial borders, gravel gardens, cottage gardens, and wildlife gardens. It works well for edging beds and walks as well. Nepeta is ideal for underplanting roses since the colors go well together and the foliage covers the rose plants’ exposed roots.
- hummingbirds and butterflies are drawn to it, but deer and rabbits avoid it.
- Very pest- and problem-free plant that grows very quickly. Watch out for powdery mildew or leafhoppers.
- To encourage a more compact size, it may be pruned before the first flowering. To promote a second blossoming, shear flower spikes once they have finished blooming. It is best to divide plants in the spring or fall.
Which Nepeta are cats fond of?
Catnip has a powerful effect on cats, as is known to cat owners and anyone who care about cats. If you have a cat and bring catnip indoors, the cat will discover it no matter where you put it.
After obtaining catnip (also known as catmint or nepeta), a cat may rub her or his head and shoulders against the plant, lie down on it, or even run around the house. Cats often consume and chew on catnip.
A study looked into the effects of catmint on cats and why. I excitedly read the report even though I’ve never been sure whether or not to give my kitties catnip. Could inhaling or ingesting catnip cause them to lose brain cells? Does it become a habit? Is catnip a cat’s first drug?
The component in catmint, a member of the mint family, that drives cats crazy is nepetalactone. Instead, it drives 70% of cats insane; only 30% of cats are unaffected by catnip.
Additionally, it’s likely that your new kitten won’t react to catnip (good news, as kittens are plenty wild without drugs). In general, this herb has little effect on kittens under the age of 12 weeks.
Nepetalactone is detected by cats through their olfactory organs. According to some theories, catnip exerts pheromone-like effects on cats. For more explanation, I refer you to the experts and the many links here. Except to say that it would be interesting to examine which parts of the brain are affected if a cat could be fed catnip and connected to an fMRI machine. A cat behaviorist responded to my inquiry about this by stating that it wouldn’t be very effective because cats don’t respond well to the “sit order. An fMRI scan would need the cat to remain quite still.
Nepeta species are a beautiful, low-growing perennial that may be found all across the world, including this section of southern Wisconsin. Nepeta is native to Europe, not the US, although it thrives here in both its wild and cultivated forms. Evidently, one of the first immigrants to the New World loved their cat enough to bring their favorite catnip with them.
Being a gardener who has a special love for perennials, I took notice when our beautiful city’s gardening team began employing a gorgeous, low-growing plant with attractive silver-green leaves and a durable blue blossom. When I discovered that it was Nepeta sp., I went to a nearby greenhouse and purchased a couple plants. It was clear right away that this plant propagated since the following year, it created some sizable mounds in the garden.
The dogs are free to roam the yard while the cats are always indoors where I reside with other animals. When our neighbors throw bread into their yards, squirrels snag it and eat it “in our garden, a plant. As a result, the dogs are constantly searching the plants for breadcrumbs.
More and more of those plants are Nepeta species as a result of its expanding nature. Fortunately, this won’t be an issue because catmint doesn’t harm dogs, right?
My indoor cats enjoy the outside exploits of the dogs as if they were their own. The cats are constantly at the door when we return from a walk, not to welcome me but rather to smell the dogs.
Normally, this is not a problem. The attention is usually manageable and may be brushed off by the dog stepping away, but the dogs find the cats’ sniffing and climbing on them somewhat bothersome. It’s not unexpected that the dogs carry scent home on their coats and feet as the dogs and I walk through an area where fox, mink, and other animals live.
On the other hand, if you let a dog inside after it has walked through a patch of Nepeta sp., the cat will pay close attention to it. A cat engaged on nibbling or rolling on whichever foot has come into touch with the plant immediately pursues the affected dog. The dogs get concerned as they realize how serious the cats’ intentions are.
I was getting ready to spend 45 hours away from home when this first happened. As I observed the cat’s perseverance, I had visions of returning home to find dogs whose toes had been chewed raw by cats.
I had a strategy in mind: “Need to swiftly and securely remove oily stuff from dog’s feet. A particular dishwashing product with a good reputation for cutting grease seemed to be the answer. I quickly cleaned it and then put the dog in a cat-free area.
I was shocked to realize that catmint is a plant when I read about it in the literature “owners who use a natural sedative and digestive assistance (and other humans).
Anesthesia, antibiotics, anti-rheumatic, antispasmodic, astringent, diuretic, and relief from muscle aches and pains are mentioned as additional advantages.
Nepeta species come in a variety of smell and flower color varieties. Those who are truly cat-conscious should be aware that cats are said to prefer the common catnip, Nepeta cataria, which has white blossoms.
However, I kindly ask that you refrain from going to your yard to cut some catnip and brew a cup of tea because:
- There are specialists in catnip and herbs; I am neither. Before ingesting any catnip or Nepeta sp., kindly consult a knowledgeable, active herbalist.
- If you have cats, the herbalist can give you advice on how to drink your cup of nepeta tea without running the risk of them wanting to rub or chew on you while you’re drinking it or later.
Which is preferable, catmint or catnip?
The mint family’s genus Nepeta includes both catnip and catmint. Both of them have the typical square stems found in mint plants. Additionally, they each produce spikes of tiny, two-lipped flowers, which are an important source of food for pollinators. Their fragrant leaves emit a mint-like perfume when touched, which some find a little overpowering and “skunky.” Both plants can withstand dryness and develop quickly. But if you’re trying to decide between growing catnip or catmint, you should know that these two plants have some significant differences.
Nepeta cataria, or catnip, is a robust perennial that resembles a weed in the landscape. Its rangy, spreading nature creates drifts of gray-green foliage that are 3 feet tall. Between spring and fall, little white flower spikes sometimes appear, but they are not particularly eye-catching.
Catmint comes in a few distinct varieties, but they are all generally more orderly, compact, and mounded than catnip. Additionally, throughout the summer, these perennials produce lovely spikes of purple blooms for weeks at a time.
It can vary from animal to animal in terms of attraction to cats. While some felines seem to favor catnip and won’t give catmint a second thought, others appear to prefer catnip. Catmint is regarded as the more ornamental option of the two plants from a landscaping perspective. Purple catmint flowers and a neat shape make it a more eye-catching garden plant. If you still want to cultivate catnip for your cat, it is best kept in an out-of-the-way spot because of its weedy appearance, which doesn’t go well with all garden types.