Catmint 'Cat's Meow'
Nepeta x faassenii 'Cat's Meow' · Lamiaceae
A catmint that stays in a dense, tidy dome and does not flop open, with lavender-blue flowers from late spring to autumn.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to early September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around catmint 'Cat's Meow'
The planner designed this bed around catmint 'Cat's Meow' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why catmint 'Cat's Meow' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Catmint 'Cat's Meow' × 1, lavender
- 2 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 13, pink
- 3 Sea thrift × 17, white
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 3, purple
- 5 Wild quinine × 5, white
- 6 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 7 Spring starflower × 12, blue
- 8 Daffodil × 12, yellow
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are dense clusters, globes, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only lavender.
Why here
- In the middle. At 18 in it is the step between sea thrift (8 in) in front and Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant. Three or more is usual for a plant of this kind, and reads better.
- Fine leaf against bold. Tatarian aster 'Jindai' is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 16 weeks. From late May to early September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With sedum 'Lidakense' and wild quinine in late August: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 40 of the 40 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Cool colours (lavender, pink, purple and blue) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them. There is more sea thrift than anything else, 17 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where catmint 'Cat's Meow' goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
Where 'Walker's Low' sprawls, this keeps its shape, so it suits a formal edge. Blue-grey mounds along the front tie a border together.
- Neat edging for sunny paths
- A substitute for lavender in cold or humid climates
- Long-flowering, low-maintenance planting
What to plant with catmint 'Cat's Meow'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': in flower together for 12 weeks, from late June; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same dry soil.
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for 11 weeks, from late June; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it.
- Daylily 'Stella de Oro': in flower together for 13 weeks, from mid June.
Questions about catmint 'Cat's Meow'
Does catmint 'Cat's Meow' need sun or shade?
Catmint 'Cat's Meow' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does catmint 'Cat's Meow' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does catmint 'Cat's Meow' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to early September. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Late May to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to early September |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to early September |
| Zone 7 | Early May to early September |
| Zone 8 | Early May to early September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should catmint 'Cat's Meow' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many catmint 'Cat's Meow' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is catmint 'Cat's Meow' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension. Not considered poisonous. Cats are attracted to it and may roll on and flatten the plant.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
What flowers after catmint 'Cat's Meow'?
Catmint 'Cat's Meow' is over by early September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- October daphne: from mid September to late October, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bottle gentian: from late August to early October, 20 in tall.
What does catmint 'Cat's Meow' look like in winter?
Catmint 'Cat's Meow' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Nepeta
- Catmint 'Junior Walker' Nepeta x faassenii 'Junior Walker'
- Catmint 'Purrsian Blue' Nepeta x faassenii 'Purrsian Blue'
- Catmint 'Six Hills Giant' Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant'
- Catmint 'Walker's Low' Nepeta x faassenii
- Catnip Nepeta cataria
- Japanese catmint Nepeta subsessilis
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to early September; upright spires; lavender
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; grey-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.