Catnip is a sprawler and much less tidy.Ĭatmint’s leaves are a gray-green shade and the pale lavender flowers are borne on tall spikes. Catmint tends to be more civilized, growing straight up and staying in a uniform clump. While catmint plants are medium height, around 18-inches to two feet tall, catnip can get much taller, around three to four feet. If you’re planting it for your cats, don’t put bird feeders nearby). (If you plant to attract birds, keep the cats out of the garden or you’re just setting them up for execution. A lot of folks don’t care for the scent of either plant, but that doesn’t stop them from growing it for the cats and the birds. They came back for several days until all of the seeds were gone.īoth catnip and catmint are hardy perennials, which means they will come up each season from the same clump. One morning I looked out to see an entire flock of goldfinches clinging to the tops of the tall catmint plants, feasting on the seedpods. Years ago I had a large clump of catmint in a section of the garden that also had birdfeeders. Birds love the seeds, particularly goldfinches. They seem to enjoy the smell more than the taste. Like catnip, cats will lay directly on top of catmint and flatten it down, but unlike catnip, they won’t eat the plants. (The problem with this, however, is that winter freezing causes expansion and after a few years, the clay flue liners will crack). The mints cascaded out of their containers and the structures added a bit of garden art to the whole garden, which we loved. In my herb garden from several years ago, I planted mints inside clay chimney flue liners that the husband set in the ground at different heights. Plants with the word “mint” in their names will take over a garden and should be planted separately and confined. Other members of this plant family include lavender, rosemary, sage, and thyme, although those herbs aren’t as aggressive in the garden as the proper mints like spearmint, peppermint and lemon balm. These plants are easily recognized by their aromatic scent and square stems, but as I mentioned before, they are two different plants. Getting the cat to leave the fresh catnip alone is impossible.Ĭatnip (Nepeta cataria), and catmint (Nepeta faassenii), are both members of the mint family of plants, Lamiaceae. Drying and putting together these little trinkets is the easy part. I like to sew and do needlework, so I imagined making cute little catnip-stuffed toys for my feline friends to enjoy. Anytime I’ve planted catnip or catmint, which is a totally different but related plant, within a matter of days, my cat has pulled it completely out of the ground and left it flattened and wilted. I have two cats and while one has a take-it-or-leave-it attitude, the other is a catnip junky.
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