A Plant your Cat will Love - Growing Catmint (Nepeta cataria)

If you have a cat you will know firstly it is in charge and secondly it is spoilt! So treat your furry friend just that little bit more and grow a plant you know it will love. 

The big favourite is Nepeta, commonly known as Catmint. If it had the same effect on humans as it has on cats it would probably be banned!  Your cat will love to munch on the leaves and roll in the foliage to get their legal high! Its safe for cats and non-addictive. Depending on your cat it can have a range of effects from a happiness to euphoria, excitement, playfulness to feeling sleepy. Not all cats react to Catmint but the majority will, so if your cat has the catnip gene why not grow this easy to care for plant? 

Firstly get hold of the right variety. The variety you are looking for is Nepeta cataria. 

Nepeta can be grown from seed or purchased as various sized plants from garden centres or online. Once you have a stock of plants you can take cuttings to increase your stock and supply yourself with more plants. Nepeta are hardy so will take a frost; perennial so will live for many years and are reasonably drought resistant (so less watering for you). And once you get them to flower they are great for the bees. 

Available as: Seed, small plants, mature plants

Foliage: Deciduous, so loses its leaves in winter and regrows the following spring

Position: Full sun. South, east or west facing

Soil Type: Well drained soil. Can be grown in containers

Height and spread: up to 50cm

Watering: Reasonably drought tolerant

Pruning: Trim after flowering to keep tidy

Feeding: None required in the ground. Feed pots with a general purpose fertiliser

Hardiness: Hardy in the UK so you can leave it outside all year without protection

Pests and Diseases: Reasonably trouble free. Slugs and snails may have a bite when young. Powdery mildew maybe a problem in hot weather. 

Propagation: By seed. Softwood cuttings in summer. Semi-ripe cuttings in early autumn. Can also be divided.

Bees and Butterflies: RHS Plant for Pollinators