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catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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Posted by
v1rtu0s1ty 5a (
My Page) on
Sun, Jun 9, 13 at 1:33
| Good morning folks. I started this plant from seed via wintersowing back in 2009. I planted it in full sun. This is how she looks like right now while all the catmints I see in my neighborhood are just so beautiful. I think 3 years of patience is enough. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| erm, I don't see what you are doing wrong either. Looks green, healthy and ready to go. It also looks like a mussinii which stays a lot more dwarf than N.faassenii. Mine is just beginning to come into flower now. |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| I wonder if part of your problem is that you started your catmint from seed. Many of the best catnmints are sterile and so you must get a plant. |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| Got it. Yesterday I saw Catmint Nepeta Walkers Slow plant for $5, are these good plants? Which variety should I look for? |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| Nepeta 'Walkers Low' is an excellent perennial that blooms right through the season and requires minimal-to-zero care. It's named for the place in England where it originated as opposed to a description of the plant itself. It's also been reported as sterile so can only be propagated from cuttings or division. I have several of these planted in full sun and they're very welcome additions to the beds I designed to attract/sustain bees, butterflies & hummingbirds. According to my reference book, Perennials for Every Purpose by Larry Hodgson, Nepeta x faasenii is also sterile so what you've grown from seed is a mystery. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Walkers Low for that price--you won't regret such a purchase. My own plants are blooming now and will continue to bloom right up until frost with no pinching/deadheading from me. I believe if you check the stems you'll find they're square rather than round--a tip-off that the plant is part of the mint family. |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| Awesome! Glad to hear about the toughness of this variety. Will purchase it. :) Thanks a lot for your help and for sharing your expertise too! :) |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| Just a note that some of my Walker's Lowe's flop open in the middle and I'm considering giving them support next year. |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| I'll second/confirm the flopping issue but it's nowhere near as bad as S. nemerosa/meadow sage so I just ignore it. |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| And another note to add a word of caution for species catmints that are not sterile. Holy cow do they re-seed, and even the small seedlings are hard to pull. The shelf-life of seeds must be around a decade because they are still vigorously coming up in spots where I took out the parent plants about 6 years ago. FYI 'Six Hills Giant' reseeds too, but nothing like the species. Aside from that, catmints are totally worthy plants, especially when you get the right variety in the right place. |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| This is a plant that likes full sun and lots of air around it. It may also prefer lean soil. It was not great in my moist, rich, part-shade soil. I saw it all over England a few years ago in large clumps and sometimes planted with true geraniums of the same color. Wow, what a picture and easy if you have the right conditions. Which I don't. :( |
One more thing to remember
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| When I had these, the cats loved to roll in them which didn't do them (the catmint plants) any good either. |
Catmint issues
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| None of my neighbors have cats altho' a few have dogs which they walk (on leashes) so I've not had a problem with cats & catmint. I suspect it could be a problem under other circumstances. My own plants get full sun and plenty of air on the south side of my house (which is situated square with the compass and faces east). My soil is generally pretty rich with organic material since my parents tended it well before I moved here. I just plant according to nursery & garden book recommendations and assume the plants will meet up with the soil and take it from there with little help from me other than occasional watering. Given its long blooming habit + my own experience, I'm inclined to believe Walkers Low is a win-win situation for a full-sun perennial. |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| Walker's low is a blooming machine! I find mine has seeded, though, so it can't be sterile. Not enough to be obnoxious: just enough to make me happy. I now have several. I try to put a low cage around it (made from the top portion of an old tomato cage) before it starts blooming to prevent the flop. Give it lots of space, though. |
RE: catmint issue for 3 years now, still same issue
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| Walkers Low does not like a lot of water. I have it down at the end of my driveway bed, usually a good spot for it, slightly raised bed, fairly dry. However, when we get a rainy season, there's running water and splashing water and it will nip it back or kill it back. I just trimmed about a third of the plant back the other day. It does spread some, but it hasn't been horrible. |
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