🌿 Catnip

Nepeta cataria

herbs perennial herb Lamiaceae

☀️ Sun

full sun to partial shade

💧 Water

low to moderate (drought-tolerant once established)

🗺️ Zones

3, 9

🧪 Soil pH

6.0, 7.5

🪴 Soil Type

well-drained loam to sandy; tolerates poor soil

🚿 Drainage

well-drained

📏 Spacing

18, 24 inches

📐 Height

24, 36 inches

⏱️ Maturity

75, 85 days (perennial, flowers first year from seed)

Key:🤝 Grows well together❌ Keep apart☀️ Sun needs💧 Water🗺️ Hardiness zone

🤝 Companions (7)

🤝 Beet

Catnip repels flea beetles that pockmark beet leaves; different root zones mean minimal competition.

🤝 Cabbage

Catnip's strong mint-family scent repels cabbage moths, flea beetles, and aphids from brassicas; attracts parasitic wasps.

🤝 Collards

Catnip's strong scent masks collards from harlequin bugs and cabbage loopers; both thrive in similar growing conditions.

🤝 Potato

Attracts beneficial wasps and predatory insects that parasitize potato pests; may provide general aromatic camouflage. Note: No peer-reviewed evidence supports catnip as a Colorado potato beetle deterrent.

🤝 Rose

Catnip repels aphids from roses; its gray-green foliage and lavender flowers complement rose beds aesthetically.

🤝 Squash

Catnip deters squash bugs and cucumber beetles; flowers attract bees essential for squash pollination.

🤝 Tomato

Catnip deters aphids and whiteflies from tomatoes; attracts pollinators that improve tomato fruit set.

⚠️ Keep Apart (4)

⚠️ Lemon Balm

Both are mint-family spreaders that compete aggressively for space; their combined growth creates an impenetrable, over-crowded mess.

⚠️ Mint

Both are aggressive spreaders in the mint family; planting together creates an uncontrollable tangle where neither thrives.

⚠️ Parsley

Catnip's spreading habit can overrun low-growing parsley; different water needs (catnip prefers drier soil).

⚠️ Strawberry

Catnip's bushy growth shades out low strawberry plants; cats attracted to catnip may trample strawberry beds.

📝 Growing Notes

Contains nepetalactone , attracts and intoxicates ~70% of cats (genetic trait). Also repels mosquitoes, cockroaches, and termites (research shows nepetalactone is 10x more effective than DEET for mosquitoes). Excellent bee plant , flowers heavily and for extended periods. Catmint (Nepeta × faassenii) is a showier ornamental cousin with less medicinal value. Self-seeds readily; deadhead to control spread. Square stems, opposite leaves typical of mint family. Cats may roll on and destroy plants , protect with wire cage or plant decoy patches.

🛒 Buy Seeds & Plants

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Johnny's Selected Seeds Botanical Interests True Leaf Market Burpee Territorial Seed Company

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