The Best Time Of Year To Plant Perennial Catmint In The Garden

Gardeners rave about this delightful ground cover, and it's no wonder. Catmint (Nepeta spp.) offers a long list of positive attributes that make it an attractive choice for your landscape. The genus Nepeta has about 250 species; add the many cultivars and hybrids to that number. If you're considering planting perennial catmint, you may be wondering when to put it in the ground. Since most perennials can be planted in spring or fall, deciding when to plant catmint can be puzzling. The answer depends on where you grow and when you see your first or last frosts for the year. In short, spring is best for areas with early frosts or a short growing season. Fall still works in locales with late frosts.

Catmint is a fragrant lavender look-alike that can withstand harsher conditions. Most species, hybrids, and cultivars in the genus are easy to grow, drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant, long-blooming, and generally extremely tough. The plant is comfortable in a variety of soil types and has minimal pest and disease issues. In fact, the leaves repel pests, including rabbits, voles, and deer, with their scent. Catmint is beloved by pollinators: Nepeta x faassenii 'Walker's Low' attracts hummingbirds, for example. Perhaps best of all, the plant is lovely to look at with its silver-green foliage and lavender flowers on spiky stems. Here's the story behind the 'cat' in catmint: The Nepeta genus includes catnip, but catmint does not provoke much reaction in cats because it lacks the chemical nepetalactone found in catnip.

If you're interested in learning how to care for catmint plants, you need to know when to put a new plant into your garden. Your location makes all the difference. Locales that get early fall frosts are candidates for spring planting. Spring gardeners can plant perennial catmint after mid-March in any kind of well-drained, nutrient-rich soil. Planting catmint in the spring is most common, but you can plant through summer. Just make sure it gets shade from the hot afternoon sun. It's far from wrong to plant catmint in the fall, though, especially if you're in a late-frost locale. Plant your seedlings at least four weeks before the first hard frost to make sure the plant is established enough to survive chilly winter temperatures.

Most catmint species prefer full sun, no matter when you plant it. Clumps can grow up to 3 feet tall, but may appear shorter when the arching flower stems are heavy with bloom. Enjoy catmint flowers from April to August in most locations. You can cut back blooms to encourage more abundant flowering. Divide your catmint every three to four years to refresh its appearance and health. Gardeners appreciate how well catmint complements other plants. Roses, beebalm, and Shasta daisies are attractive neighbors for this delicate bloomer. The plant looks great in meadows, walkways, and rock gardens. It does well along edges, in borders, and as ground cover. Put this lavender-blue plant that will encourage hummingbirds to visit your yard on your list for spring or fall planting — especially if you're cultivating a pollinator garden.