Both catnip and catmint are Nepetas. Catnip is Nepeta cataria; most catmints are varieties of racemosa or x faassenii. And all appear to be equally attractive to cats - I had to stop growing catmint as my own and neighborhood cats would demolish the plants by rolling on them and I got tired of the squashed looking mess they left behind :-)

They are all quite hardy and reliable as perennials, provided they receive sufficiently good drainage. I am rather fond of Nepeta 'Little Titch' as it makes a very nice compact plant far less rangy or leggy than other forms and blooms forever.

A plug for Nepeta Walker's Low - it is a wonderful plant as long as you keep in mind that "low" has nothing to do with how tall it grows - that is just the name. Mine gets about 3 feet high and maybe 4 feet wide and it grows fast.
It hasn't gone a day without blooms since March - and when the blooms start looking old I cut them back and new ones come out to replace them.

It is one of my favorite plants, gives a lot of bloom for no fuss! And bees and hummingbirds love it!

fiwa

What ^^^^^^^^^^^ they said. And moths........lots and lots of moths.

Libby

I love the Nepeta Sibirica. I grew it in my old gardens up north. Wonderful shade of bright blue, easy care and the bees and birds loved it. We had cats but they never bothered with it.

Thank you all! I am happy to hear Walker's Low isn't short and sprawling, which is what I assumed it would be from the name.

Anybody putting seeds in the cottage garden exchange?

Lime

I find that cats prefer catnip to catmint, but I prefer the appearance of catmint.

A ditty I gleaned somewhere along the way:
"If you set it, they'll get it.
If you sow it, they won't know it."

Not sure where the plants of a catmint  purchased seed as Nepeta mussinii 'Superba' in 1988  which I started from seed in a flat, then transplanted to the garden, fall on that spectrum, but my cat doesn't bother it much beyond an occasional nibble.

And that's welcome: after the first flush of bloom (begins around last Spring frost, 10 May here), it benefits from being cut back: both tidier and a re-bloom.

That task wasn't a priority this year and Michelle the cat is 18 years old, doesn't do as much gardening as she used to, so I'm not sure whether I'll have rebloom to gather seed. At the moment, remnants of tropical depression Ernesto are deluging, but I'll check once he subsides. Would gladly share seed for SASE if you wish.

Reading this thread prompted me to add catmint Nepeta racemosa ÂWalkerÂs Low to my seed wish list. I found conflicting information in my research and am confused. A couple of sites said the plant is propagated from seed and division. A couple of other sites said it is propogated by division only because the seed is sterile. Can someone set me straight on this?

I usually hang out at the WinterSowing forum but have been reading here for about a month. You folks certainly are friendly and knowledgeable -- just like those on the WS forum.

This is my first post here, so thanks in advance to all responders.

All you need is one "Walker's Low" or "Six Hills Giant" and you can divide, divide, divide for years to come. It is our standard perennial for edging our paths throughout the garden. The honeybees, butterflies and hummingbirds love it. I trim mine in a mound shape after each bloom using a cordless hedge trimmer.

It gets about 30" high or so and about 3 ft wide. We love it.

We don't have cats. Rabbits and deer won't touch it.

Cameron

This is catmint a/k/a Nepeta's (Walker's low growing) along the edge of this pathway. This has only been planted a few months but I will divide it and fill in the blanks once it starts to spread. Note by the trellis the wispy, soft blue color.

{{gwi:261023}}

Thanks, Cameron and patricia43. Did either of you start the Nepeta from seed? patricia, the garden is just beautiful and so is the backdrop of trees. Makes me want to take a stroll.

Thank you, playsindirtdirt.

I buy those little peat pots of nepeta. It's pretty inexpensive in my area and it grows very rapidly so in two years, you can cover quite an area with very little expense. I am not very good at seeds except for poppies, larkspur and cosmos, zinnias, marigolds. Anything difficult, I just buy a start and plug it as it grows.

I have the "catmint" variety and love the look, until the neighbors cat decides to roll in it. I have put some of the cheap green wire fencing around it to help keep the kitty from making a mess of it. I've also stood up small twigs inside it all around to keep cats from laying in it. Neither method stands out but the twigs are the least evident. Unfortunately, I've had to use the green fencing in many parts of my garden including as a method to "slow" the neighbor's kitty down where he likes to hide and jump out at the birds I try to attract.

I also have the Nepeta Calamint. I don't have any problems with kitties in it--I really like it's look also.

Ooh - I'm glad to hear you can easily divide catmint! I got some this year, and it is the happiest of everything I have planted so far! I have Blue Wonder, but am assuming the division part is similar to Walkers Low or Six Hills Giant, even if not the same growth habit.

I'm too old to start anything from seed! :-) Maybe I'm just impatient. I started with a $4.00 pot that has now made 5 plants in 2 years.

Cameron

Cameron, one is never too old to grow from seed. An 80-year old in our area planted an orchard, then remarked to a friend, "What is an 80-year-old man doing planting an orchard? " To which the friend responded, "For the love of life. If you don't see it to fruition, someone else will, and you will have left a better place."

I discovered winter sowing last year, and for the past two years, everything in my garden -- vegetables, flowers, trees, and shrubs -- was started from seeds. I started a magnolia tree from seed last year also dogwood, apple, peaches, and pear trees. I'll be 64 this month. Will I see all those things to fruition? I doubt it, but I will have left "my place" a bit better than I found it. And the flower seeds I winter sowed -- oh, boy! am I ever enjoying those and in numbers I could never afford from a nursery.

So, find a seed and sow it!!

I had never thought about dividing my Catmint, I have the walkers low and the six hills giant, and they look very similar to me. This Fall I will have to make some new plants. My cat does the same thing to Catnip, rolls on the plant and makes a big mess. He will take a few bites of the Catmint, but doesn't destroy the plant.
Diana

Patricia, Your photo is gorgeous! Wow! I wish we could grow roses like that here- -or maybe we can, it's just me that can't. Not sure :)

Thanks for the help everybody. I still don't have either catnip or catmint and might decide I want Russian Sage instead. It has a similar look and feel.

Any pros or cons you'd like to share as to Russian Sage instead of Catmint?

Lime

Catnip and catmint are not same thing. Catnip can bell the cat. So interesting, I readed this in http://puffycarrot.com/catmint-vs-catnip/