Catnip isn't just popular with house tigers. We reveal what you need to know about planting catnip in the garden or as a houseplant.
Catnip (Nepeta) is a real miracle herb. It has a very special effect on cats and humans can use the fragrant plant as a medicinal herb or as a touch of color in perennial borders. With a few tips and tricks, catnip can also find its way into your garden. In this article we will tell you everything you need to know about the right location, the best time to plant and how to plant catnip.
Catnip can be used in many ways: In the garden, it looks wonderful in a perennial bed. With its special aroma in the scent bed, it contributes to a wonderful fragrance in the garden in summer. Indoors it can be kept as a houseplant, on the balcony it looks good in the window box and pleases the bees and insects in the city. Catnip was valued as a medicinal and spice plant as early as the Middle Ages, and cat lovers are doing their furry flatmates a great favor by growing the special mint in their homes. After purchasing your catnip, the next step is to plant it. However, to ensure that you can enjoy your catnip for as long as possible, there are a few points to consider when planting them.
When to plant catnip?
When to plant catnip depends on whether you are self-sowing your catnip, dividing it, or planting out in purchased pots.
The ideal time to sow catnip is in spring, at the earliest in mid-March. You should have sown your catnip outdoors by the end of April, otherwise the likelihood that the mint will start flowering in the same year becomes less and less. Another way to propagate catnip yourself is by division. For this purpose, a perennial from the garden is divided with a spade and planted in a new place. The best time to do this is between April and June. If you have decided to buy pre-grown catnip in a pot, it can be planted out almost all year roundpossible. Only in the winter months should you not plant your catnip outdoors. A time between the end of April and mid-May is ideal.
Summary when to plant catnip:
- Sowing from mid-March to end of April
- dividing from April to June
- Plant in pots from spring to autumn, ideally between the end of April and mid-May
The right place for catnip
Catnip likes it best in the sun and light. On the other hand, it doesn't feel at all comfortable in the shade. In general, a rough distinction can be made between the different types of catnip, namely between gray-leaved and green-leaved species. The grey-leaved catnip species usually prefer a dry, sandy location with as much sun as possible. The green-leaved catnip species like a fresh to moist location better, they usually don't mind a little more shade.
Tip: Catnip goes particularly well with roses (Pink). But it also gets along well with other perennials. Larkspur (Delphinium) or Indian nettle (Monarda) are also good neighbors for your catnip.
Catnip prefers loose and permeable soil. It should also be rich in nutrients - a sufficient supply of nitrogen is particularly important for catnip. Soil for catnip can be sandy to loamy and should ideally have a pH of 6.5. Catnip can deal better with dry conditions than with too humid conditions. Waterlogging in particular can lead to suffocation of the roots and rot - this must be avoided at all costs.
Tip: Catnip has an almost magical appeal to cats. You should be aware of that. Therefore, it is best to choose a growing location where cats are welcome.
Summary of location and soil requirements of catnip:
- Grey-leaved Catnip: Dry, sunny and sandy spot
- Green-leaved species: Fresh to moist locations, sunny to semi-shady
- Loose and well-drained soil with a pH of around 6.5
- Nutrient soil that is sandy to loamy and not too moist
Planting catnip outside in the garden
Is the right place for the catnipfound, it's time to plant. The first step is to put the catnip in a bucket of water so that the root ball can soak up the water.
In the next step, prepare the bed by loosening the soil well, removing stones, roots and weeds and incorporating nutrients. This can be in the form of compost or slow-release organic fertilizer. You can also use a soil activator like the Plantura organic soil activator to loosen the soil and increase the humus content.
Use a planting shovel to dig out planting holes at a distance of 30 centimeters from the next plant. If you want to achieve complete ground coverage with several catnip plants, we recommend planting a maximum of ten plants per square meter. The planting holes should only be as deep as the plant is in the pot. The top of the root ball should be just below the soil surface. Now the plant is placed in the planting hole. You should then fill the planting hole with the excavation and water the catnip well.
Instructions for planting catnip:
- Put the plant in a bucket of water
- Loosen the soil at the planting site and remove weeds
- Amend the soil with compost or a slow release organic fertilizer
- Dig planting hole
- Planting distance: 30 cm
- Insert plant and fill planting hole with excavation
- Water well
Planting catnip as a houseplant in a pot
If you want to make your cat happy indoors, you can also plant catnip in pots or tubs as a houseplant. All you need is a sufficiently large planter, which should have a drainage hole. The drainage hole and a saucer ensure that the irrigation water can drain off well and that there is no waterlogging. A drainage layer in the pot is also important for this. This can consist of pebbles or pieces of pottery, for example, and helps the water to drain away. The peat-free Plantura organic herb and seed compost is suitable for planting catnip in pots. outstanding. You should also enrich the substrate with nutrients for the catnip in the pot. Our Plantura organic universal fertilizer with organic long-term effect is suitable for this, as it supplies the catnip with the right nutrients sufficiently and gently. Fill the pot one third full with thesubstrate and place the catnip plant in the middle of it. The pot is then filled with the substrate, the plant watered and the excess water removed from the saucer.
Summary of planting catnip in a pot:
- Select a sufficiently large planter with drainage hole
- Create drainage layer
- Enrich the substrate with an organic long-acting fertilizer
- Fill a third of the pot with substrate
- Put the plant in the middle of the pot
- Fill the pot with substrate
- Water and remove excess water
Catnip is not only good as a houseplant, but also in a box on the balcony. It attracts bees with its many flowers and is a beautiful addition to your balcony garden.
Tip: Good neighbors for catnip in the window box are, for example, oregano (Origanum), thyme (Thymus ) or lavender (Lavandula). On the other hand, all moisture-loving herbs such as parsley (Petroselinum), lovage (Levisticum) and chives (Allium) are unsuitable. ).
Caring for catnip after planting
Even after planting, catnip needs your attention and care. Of course, this includes watering, fertilizing and cutting. Especially in the pot, the catnip should be watered regularly. But don't overdo it. After all, catnip copes much better with brief periods of drought than with prolonged moisture. Therefore, always allow the surface of the soil or substrate in the pot to dry thoroughly before watering again. A one-time fertilization in the spring with nitrogen-rich fertilizer is enough for the catnip for the whole year. Compost, horn shavings or fertilizer with an organic long-term effect such as our Plantura organic universal fertilizer are suitable for this. Another care measure for catnip is pruning. If you cut your catnip back to just above the ground immediately after flowering, you increase the chances of a second flowering in the same year.
You can read more about cutting your catnip properly here in our special article on the subject.