Catnip is an easy to grow perennial. If a home includes feline members, growing catnip provides a special treat for them. However, this member of the mint family has many of the bad behaviors of the group including spreading and self-seeding. People may use catnip in an infusion or tea to provide a sense of calm and well-being.
Growing Catnip in Texas
Catnip is planted in the early spring in Texas usually from transplants. However, it can be grown fairly easily from cuttings place in a mixture of sand, peat moss, vermiculite and perlite. In full sun, catnip will struggle during the worst of the Texas summer sun. Because the plant tolerates some shade, selecting a location with morning sun and afternoon shade is best.
Select a planting location for catnip with caution. Because the plant is loved by cats, the family or neighborhood cats may frequently visit catnip plants. Cats love rolling in catnip and sometimes eating it. Catnip plants in Texas also become leggy toward the end of the growing season and are less attractive than many landscape or garden plants. So, place catnip is a safe location for cats and behind more attractive plants.
Catnip plants are 18–24 inches tall and can spread up to 3–4 feet. The leaves are grey-green and the flowers white, purple or mauve. Keeping the plant cut back will lengthen its growing time. Be sure the starter plant is common catnip (Nepenta cataria). There are ornamental varieties of catnip that are not a treat for cats.
Catnip is easy to grow in Texas. It requires some watering, but not a great deal. It has few pest or disease problems. The plants will tolerate mild Texas winters and will grow back from its roots in spring. Fertilize catnip with a regular garden slow-release fertilizer in spring when the plant is about one foot tall.
Catnip and Cats
Watching a cat rolling in catnip with its eyes dilated, possibly drooling, and a drunk-look on its face, one may think that the cat is “high”. The active ingredient in catnip is called nepetalactone. Between 50% and 65% of domestic cats react to this essential oil. An interesting observation is that when sniffed, catnip will stimulate, however when eaten it will act as a sedative according to CatWorld.
Just because a cat seems to outrageously enjoy catnip, do not worry. Catnip is harmless to cats and people, although pregnant women should avoid it as a precaution. A Texas gardener can cut and dry catnip leaves for off-season enjoyment. Once dried, the leaves should be placed in an air-tight container. In winter, the cat owner can offer a dried leaf to the house cat or crumble the dried leaves and place them in a favorite cat toy.
A final bit of interesting information about catnip—not related to cats—catnip is a very effective mosquito repellant. Research suggests that distilled nepetalactone repels mosquitoes ten times more effectively than DEET, the active ingredient in most insect repellents (Science Daily August 28, 2001).
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