Days to Maturity: 85 from direct sow
Catnip brings the good animals into the garden and keeps the pests away. Irresistible to cats and bees, it is a spreading, carefree joy in the bed or border, blooming all summer with fragrant flowers and foliage. We've known many gardeners who began growing catnip to please their cats and were so delighted with these plants that they ended up a permanent feature in the garden.
Catnip is a perennial, a member of the mint family that grows as easily as its famous cousin but does not spread quite so unstoppably. Both the soft lavender-blue flowers and the green foliage are aromatic on these 2-foot-tall plants. And now we are proud to carry certified organic catnip seed.
Asking only full sun, catnip grows readily in poor, dry, sandy, or hot soils where little else is successful. Direct sow the seeds in spring after danger of frost, and harvest the entire plant, if desired for tea, potpourri, etc., in midsummer. Be careful about allowing it to go to seed; volunteer catnip plants will dot your garden if you do not snip off the seedheads before they scatter. On the other hand, it's lovely to harvest the seed and share with friends. (Fun holiday card surprise!)
