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Nepeta Catmint

Nepeta Catmint

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Catmint PDF

Catmint nepeta features:

Perennial Plant Association’s 2007 Perennial Plant of the Year

It can take the full sun. It is heat and drought tolerant once established, fast growing, fragrant, edible (tisane), and it attracts butterflies, bees, moths, hummingbirds. It can be used in perennial beds individually as a focal point or in mass plantings, in rock gardens, for borders, or as ground cover. With its long stems, it is good for cut flowers. It is hare resistant. It needs hard pruning after flowering.

Companion planting below… Calgary’s YardSmart places companion plants in useful Subgroups based on size, time of foliage and blossom productivity, colours, texture etc. Since our perennial garden at the Parkdale Community Garden is a circular bed we could create pie wedges with each of these subgroups below. The taller catmint could be near the centre with the Nanking Cherry tree.

By mid-June in Calgary catmint is ready for harvest. This is a great time to make a calming herbal tea infusion with its leaves (and flowers too if you like). Pour boiling water of ¼ cup fresh leaves and let sit for 5 minutes. When it stops flowering, we will prune it back hard and it will blossom again later in the season. It can be harvested for quite a long time during the growing season.

Catmint gallery

 

Catmint Companions

Since Catmint is drought and heat tolerant once established and WaterWise it and most of its companions are recommended by Calgary’s YardSmart and WaterWise programs. Many of these were also named as Perennial Plants of the Year.

Calgary’s YardSmart places companion plants in useful Subgroups based on size, time of foliage and blossom productivity, colours, texture etc.

  • Butterfly Weed Asclepias tuberosa orange, pink (polite, not fast spreading)
  • English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia ‘ (polite, not fast spreading)
  • Shasta Daisy Leucanthemum x superbum
  • Iris
  • Coneflower Echinacea purpurea (polite, not fast spreading)
  • Russian sage light blue/mauve (polite, not fast spreading)
  • Black-eyed Susan yellows
  • May Night Salvia dark blue (polite, not fast spreading)
  • Pinks Dianthus pinks (small)
  • Maiden Grass Miscanthus
  • Switch Grass Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’
  • Lamium Dead Nettle mauve, purple (small and very fast spreading)
  • Autumn Joy Sedum red in fall (polite, not fast spreading)
  • Blazing Star, Gay Feather, Liatris spicata (Calgary YardSmart) (polite, not fast spreading)
  • ‘Goldsturm’ Black-Eyed Susan – Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’

Subgroup I recommended by YardSmart

Salvia in front of fescue in front of silver mound artemesia and liatris in front of Poppies beside day lilies and Geranium. Daylilies can be planted in geranium clumps. Catmint at back or centre

  • Elijah Blue’ Blue Fescue – Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’
  • Cranesbill Geranium Geranium sanguineum ‘Rozanne’
  • May night Salvia,
  • Poppie
  • Blazing star’ liatris,
  • Stella d’Oro daylily
  • silver mound artemesia

Subgroup 2 recommended by YardSmart

Blanket flower in front of daylilies in front of David Phlox. Catmint at back.

  • ‘David’ Phlox – Phlox paniculata ‘David’
  • Daylilies like Stella D’Oro yellow
  • Blanket flower Gaillardia yellow, orange

Subgroup 3 recommended by YardSmart

Russian sage beside rudbeckia in front of coneflower in front of cranesbill. Catmint at back.

  • ‘Magnus’ Purple Coneflower – Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’
  • Cranesbill Geranium Geranium sanguineum ‘Rozanne’
  • Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm
  • Russian sage

Subgroup 4 recommended by YardSmart

These are not as tall, for border. Catmint at back.

  • sedums
  • May night Salvia
  • rose glow barberry
  • Pinks ‘Fire Witch’ Dianthus Feuerhexe 

Subgroup 5 recommended by YardSmart

Russian sage in front of coneflower in front of Cranesbill in front or beside Catmint

  • Cranesbill Geranium Geranium sanguineum ‘Rozanne’
  • Magnus purple coneflower,
  • Russian sage
  • Turkestan burning bush

Subgroup 6 recommended by YardSmart

Subgroup 7 recommended by YardSmart

  • Diabolo ninebark
  • May night Salvia
  • Fire Witch dianthus
  • ‘Husker Red’ Penstemon – Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’

Subgroup 7 recommended by YardSmart

  • Common Peony – Paeonia lactiflora
  • Ivory Halo dogwood,
  • Clustered Bellflower – Campanula glomerata ‘Superba’
  • David phlox.

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