Unfrozen seeds may take longer to germinate. Catnip can tolerate dry soil. Sow seeds … Sometimes it is referred to as “catmint,” but I prefer the term for this, the most aromatic plant in the whole nepeta group, to be catnip. Then, water them every day until they germinate and start to grow leaves. If you had them as houseplants, you’ll realize just how you held them back, because their growth outside will be phenomenal by comparison. 1  … Your crop has to attract the bees, even as a home gardener, and catnip will do that for you. If it's for catnip tea, or for your cat's pleasure, then you will want to strip the leaves and blooms from the stalks. No-dash-here, you've found The Real … Young leaves and shoots also impart lemony-mintness to everyday cooking and to catnip tea. It can make you calmer and help clear your mind. Last Updated: December 4, 2019 Here's a look at my copper alembric pot I use for distilling essential oils. Choose the Source. Grow Heirloom Catnip - Plant Catnip Seeds Catnip - also called Catmint or True Catnip - is a perennial herb that is native to parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. To stratify or not, that is the question. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. If you want to save money, or if you know of someone who already is growing catnip, you could ask them for a plant or some seeds. Once you've air dried your leaves, take one to two teaspoons of dried catnip and place it in cheese cloth or any tea dispenser you might have on hand. Cut off the brown and spent flower heads and let them dry for a few days in a warm, dry location. Most survived, amazingly. When kept as a houseplant, Nepeta cataria flowers continually. If it doesn’t, leave it there for longer. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. Alternatively, you can grow it indoors away from a sunlit window if you have access to high output fluorescent plant grow lights. What you want to use your catnip for will dictate how you process it. They have an extended flowering period going on for at least two months, during which time, they will attract many pollinators into your garden. A relative of mint, catnip is best known for it's effect on cats. There’s a whole new world out there we didn’t know about, where the roots of one plant communicate with the roots of another. Will it still come back in spring when I water it again? Allelopathy means the ability of plants to suppress the growth of others. I hope farmers take note and plant their pollinator-attracting catnip plants at least a foot away from their crops. With luck, you will get three harvests in a growing season. Katherine Gohmann is a Professional Gardener in Texas. 1. Growing Catnip from Seeds Plant seeds directly in the garden in spring. If you try to grow them, what I’ve learned is that catnip has a very good germination rate. Your support helps wikiHow to create more in-depth illustrated articles and videos and to share our trusted brand of instructional content with millions of people all over the world. Fill the bottom tray of your seed starting kit with warm water until the little pellets are covered. I almost feel as if I should phone the green save-the-bees people to inform them. Keen gardeners aren’t expected to know scientific terms that no-one else uses apart from scientists.). Crush the heads over the colander and pick out the old petals and any chaff. In addition to allelopathy, Nepeta cataria has been used for centuries in homeopathy for a number of applications, including: All farmers should grow catnip round the peripheries of their fields, because bees of all shapes, sizes, and varieties are strongly attracted to this plant. Look for shoots and new spouts that might try to grow beyond the pot. By mid-summer, or even earlier if the weather is favourable, they will be in full flower. References Transplant outdoors in spring or when there is no danger of frost. To take a cutting, simply remove a small piece of new growth early in the growing season and pot it up a new pot of sterile potting soil. I will run experiments and update this with my findings. For catnip, seed sowing should occur after the seeds about been placed in a freezer overnight. Direct seed: Direct seed after the last spring frost or in early fall, sowing 2-3 seeds per inch. We remove the lower leaves to stop it dehydrating too much. Just pick off a bit of stem that is at least 2” high, remove the lower leaves, and place in water. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. How do those two statements marry? By using our site, you agree to our. A strongly aromatic member of the mint family, catnip has multiple uses: in homeopathic medicine, as a very powerful bee attractant, as insect repellent, and it is also of course globally renowned for being attractive to cats. This will allow for easier and more uniform germination rates. That's OK. Since it’s a member of the mint family, it’s easy to grow, is a perennial grower, and thrives in a wide range of North American hardiness zones. Get a pot with edges that are not too high: catnip … Catnip plants are fairly hardy and quite drought-resistant, so you should be more concerned about over-watering than not watering them enough. If you’re planting seeds directly into your outdoor garden, sow them as soon as any threat of frost has passed. When you’re ready to harvest your catnip, trim off stalks and dry them on a paper towel next to a sunny window for 2 days. Yes, you can give your cat one or two leaves each day. A member of the mint family, catnip is also used in food and herbal remedies. How to Grow Catnip Plants in 5 Steps. Since bees love catnip, the plant acts as an excellent pollinator. Nepetalactone, the active ingredient in catnip, is highest in the blooms, then the leaves, and lastly in the stems. If you have access to a warm sunny area for at least 8 hours a day you won’t need a grow light. You should begin to see sprouts after this period. For example, tea made from the leaves and flowers of Nepeta cataria is said to relieve coug… However, it is also an excellent insect repellant, tasty in cooking, and makes a tea that is good for insomnia and fevers. I have learned so much from this. Cats can eat it fresh. Thanks! Although often called catnip, it’s not as attractive to cats as the real catnip. The web is uncertain whether it needs a cold … I grew catnip in my kitchen for a year before I planted them in the garden, mainly because my garden is mostly under grass, and I never got round to preparing an area for them. I have never seen so many bees in my garden since I started growing Nepeta cataria in high numbers. For whole plants, hang them upside down in a cool location for a few weeks. ", "Gave me the info in a simple but complete manner. When the seedlings appear, anything between 2 days to 3 weeks later, … Yes! It’s fragrant flowers also attract bees and other pollinators, which is great for the environment. Shearing and deadheading plants will result in bushier plants that flower more consistently. Discover the different types of catmint including Walkers Low and Junior Walker, and also Nepeta cataria (catnip). % of people told us that this article helped them. After harvest, trim back the plants again. Plant them about 18” apart to give them room. Feeding: Scratch ½ inch of compost into the top few inches of soil before planting catnip and side … The seeds are contained in the spent flower head. They greened up over time, but some turned back to red as their seeds started to ripen. If you have a friend or neighbour who has some catnip growing and you have access to a cutting, it roots very easily either in a glass of water or by putting it directly into the ground. Soak the pellets for a few minutes. ", the deck. While in one sense this has been a great disappointment to me, because I love watching cats react. Leave them there until they are completely dried. Seeds sown in the fall tend to yield a denser, bushier crop of plants. Will catnip spread and take over my garden like mint? Many gardeners recommend freezing the seeds overnight before soaking in … Grow catnip from seeds or plants starting in the spring or fall. Then, water them every day until they germinate and start to grow leaves. I have a north-facing garden that gets very little winter sun, due to the mountain behind me. Once they’ve dried, place them in an airtight container for storage. If you're planning on using it for tea, then the answer would be yes. The planet needs bees, and we are told they are being killed by insecticides. For tips from our Horticulture reviewer on how to use or store your catnip, read on! This article helped! If growing a plant indoors, you should place it no more than three feet away from the sunlit window. You may find this happens if you live in a warm climate. – catnip seeds; – fresh soil (better if rich, well-drained soil. It really depends on what you're looking to do with it. It maybe didn’t get as big as some of those in full sun, but it did OK. You don’t need to harvest everything though. Seeds can be collected by tying paper bags over the flowerheads, or else you can cut the blossoms off and place them in something like a muslin laundry bag—where they can be hung up to dry on their own, keeping all their seeds intact. Commercial growers choose that narrow time between full seed head development and leaf death. Pull new shoots when you see them, and don’t place too much soil on top of the container when you’re burying it. If anyone knows why this happens, please drop a comment down below in the comment section. Dividing plants can help control overgrowth, renew fading plants, or simply allow you to share a plant with a friend. This is an image of a single Nepeta cataria flower, taken with a macro lens. You can harvest their leaves at any time, and some people recommend harvesting the flowers as soon as they appear. Some de-stemmed catnip on an oven tray for drying. I did all that, except I started growing them in late summer and planted them out just as winter descended. It was for the neighbor's cat. Catnip is an herb famous for its euphoric effect on cats. I'm sheltering feral cats on my, "I grew some catnip from seed and needed information on how to care for the plants. That said, scientists are very interested in the product, because according to their own research, pure catnip essential oil is more potent than DEET at repelling mosquitoes under laboratory conditions. It will sprout in two to three weeks if started from seed. Most of us don’t have access to that much sunlight during the winter. If planted in sandy soil, catnip… Note about pink catnip: Quite a few of my catnip seedlings turned pink when planted in the garden. It tolerates most soil conditions – pH 6.1 to 7.8) – a little pot. Use a fine colander for basil seed collecting, as the black seeds are very tiny. 2. After reading it draws all cats, that's fine, but a movable low, narrow pot is better for control. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/56\/Grow-Catnip-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Grow-Catnip-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/56\/Grow-Catnip-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid118880-v4-728px-Grow-Catnip-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"