Catmint 'Junior Walker'
Nepeta x faassenii 'Junior Walker' · Lamiaceae
A compact, sterile catmint: a low, wide mound of grey-green leaves under lavender-blue flowers from late spring, repeating until autumn.
- Size
- 16 in tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to early September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around catmint 'Junior Walker'
The planner designed this bed around catmint 'Junior Walker' 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 'Junior Walker' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Catmint 'Junior Walker' × 1, lavender
- 2 Winter heath × 5, pink
- 3 October daphne × 8, pink
- 4 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 8, blue
- 5 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 6 Fernleaf peony × 1, red
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are bells, dense clusters, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only lavender.
Why here
- In the middle. At 16 in it is the step between October daphne (8 in) in front and little bluestem (3 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.
Why now
- In flower for 16 weeks. From late May to early September.
- Fills a gap. For 8 of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 26 of the 26 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 51% of the visual weight and the right half 49%. October daphne is planted in two places along the bed, which gives it rhythm.
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 'Junior Walker' goes in a border
At 16 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: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It has the season of 'Walker's Low' at half the height, and never seeds. Use it to edge a path or front a rose bed. Shear it after the first flush.
- Edging paths and rose beds
- Long flowering at the front
- Bees
What to plant with catmint 'Junior Walker'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- English rose: blue against orange, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for 14 weeks; a low mound at the foot of its spires; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it.
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': blue against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for 12 weeks; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same dry soil.
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
Questions about catmint 'Junior Walker'
Does catmint 'Junior Walker' need sun or shade?
Catmint 'Junior Walker' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does catmint 'Junior Walker' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does catmint 'Junior Walker' 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 |
| Zone 9 | Late April 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 'Junior Walker' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 16 in (40 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many catmint 'Junior Walker' 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 a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is catmint 'Junior Walker' 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.
Is there a native plant like catmint 'Junior Walker'?
Catmint 'Junior Walker' comes from Europe. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Tickseed 'Early Sunrise': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 8 in narrower, yellow, not lavender.
- Blanket flower 'Mesa Yellow': the same job in a bed; 8 in narrower, flowers mid June to early October.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat catmint 'Junior Walker'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after catmint 'Junior Walker'?
Catmint 'Junior Walker' 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.
- Meadow saffron: from mid September to mid October, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does catmint 'Junior Walker' look like in winter?
Catmint 'Junior Walker' 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.
Is catmint 'Junior Walker' good for bees and butterflies?
Catmint 'Junior Walker' is visited by pollinators and bees.
More Nepeta
- Catmint 'Cat's Meow' Nepeta x faassenii 'Cat's Meow'
- 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
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for bees
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Plants with blue flowers
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 16 in (40 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 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, blue
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; grey-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Comes from
- Europe
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
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.