Catnip grows best outdoors, but can be grown indoors if you place it by a window that gets at least six hours of full sun per day. Those that I grew in full sun did especially well, but they also grew thicker stems, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. This article has been viewed 336,147 times. Bury seeds … the local cats to my garden. If you're planning on using it for tea, then the answer would be yes. Your crop has to attract the bees, even as a home gardener, and catnip will do that for you. The consensus is that unfrozen seeds take longer to germinate. Will catnip spread and take over my garden like mint? Nepetalactone, the active ingredient in catnip, is highest in the blooms, then the leaves, and lastly in the stems. To grow catnip, start by scattering the seeds in small pots and keeping the pots in a sunny spot. 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. This will allow for easier and more uniform germination rates. She has been a home gardener and professional gardener since 2008. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. With CAT Reaction clips playing with toys. Catnip can be planted in your garden in spring or fall, from seed or plants. to help relieve symptoms of both the common cold and cancer. If you want the look of an herb garden, but don’t want to risk catnip taking over, plant it in containers then bury the containers in your garden. You will need to have, or have access to, either a glass distillation kit or a pot still like mine. Commercial growers choose that narrow time between full seed head development and leaf death. Cut what you are taking down to leave at least one stem nodule on the plant. In the wild, catnip seeds would be scattered by the wind, find somewhere to settle, and go through a winter before deciding to sprout in the spring. Just make sure you used catnip and not catmint! In the wild, catnip seeds would be scattered by the wind, find somewhere to settle, and go through a winter before deciding to sprout in the spring. Most of us don’t have access to that much sunlight during the winter. It really depends on what you're looking to do with it. Tea also has antioxidants, which have beneficial healing and protective effects in your body and brain. What you want to use your catnip for will dictate how you process it. But when they grow and it becomes a power struggle for space, the catnip wins. They don't do this while they are small and have a small root system. Growing Catnip from Seeds Plant seeds directly in the garden in spring. Placing the plants in containers beneath the soil will help confine and control their roots, preventing them from wandering throughout your garden. Although often called catnip, it’s not as attractive to cats as the real catnip. Winter conditions have very little relevance to a tough, summer-flowering plant like catnip though. – catnip seeds; – fresh soil (better if rich, well-drained soil. Transplant outdoors in spring or when there is no danger of frost. Some people just enjoy the taste, others drink it for mental or health benefits. Note about pink catnip: Quite a few of my catnip seedlings turned pink when planted in the garden. And sometimes even if we do a grow … Catnip can become invasive, and to prevent it from reseeding itself, remove the flowers prior to them going to seed. I love to share my extensive gardening knowledge with readers, so that they too can enjoy the wonders of all kinds of verdant plant life. Many gardeners recommend freezing the seeds overnight before soaking in … Something like 0.3% of any weight of dried catnip can be extracted. Consider a room with a closed door to keep the cat from jumping up and getting into the leaves. If sowing seeds in the fall, grow them by a sunlit window, preferably one that will receive at least six hours of sun daily. They still grew pretty big and flowered. How to Grow Catnip Plants in 5 Steps. Tamp seeds onto the surface of the soil or just barely cover them; seeds … The Garden Helper is a free gardening encyclopedia and guides to growing and caring for gardens, plants and flowers. Learn how to grow and care for catmint plants. And yet, it repels other insects. Those catnip plants in pots did worst of all, whether in full sun, or sun/shade. Catnip seeds grow best when they are Stratified. Catnip propagates easily from both leaf-tip cuttings and seeds. Steam distillation is by the far the most common way of extracting catnip essential oil. However, it is also an excellent insect repellant, tasty in cooking, and makes a tea that is good for insomnia and fevers. It also has a sedative effect on humans, and is extracted as an essential oil and used in tea. Get a pot with edges that are not too high: catnip … Please consider making a contribution to wikiHow today. 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. http://www.thegardenhelper.com/catnip.html, http://herbgardening.com/growingcatnip.htm, http://naturalsociety.com/catnip-nepeta-cataria-growing-your-own-medicine/, https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-grow-catnip-plants-2132328, http://www.gardenersnet.com/herbs/catnip.htm, http://www.heirloom-organics.com/guide/va/guidetogrowingcatnip.html, http://naturalsociety.com/catnip-nepeta-cataria-growing-your-own-medicine, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Cats can eat it fresh. After a couple weeks, or after you see that the plants have adjusted to transplanting and are starting to grow, water only when the soil has dried out a few inches below the surface. Find out if they're really ready. This article was co-authored by Katie Gohmann. It is actually good for me as well, because it means I can grow as much catnip as I want, knowing they will not be damaged outdoors or indoors. I will run experiments and update this with my findings. They greened up over time, but some turned back to red as their seeds started to ripen. If you are planning on giving it to your cat, just give them a dried leaf. This is an image of a single Nepeta cataria flower, taken with a macro lens. Once seedlings have sprouted, thin the plants to about a foot apart – they need lots of space to grow! Oh this is so easy. Crush the heads over the colander and pick out the old petals and any chaff. You can! Breaking the leaves up will release the aroma. For catnip, seed sowing should occur after the seeds about been placed in a freezer overnight. The plant can grow up to 3 feet tall, but often will sprawl … Alternatively, you can grow it indoors away from a sunlit window if you have access to high output fluorescent plant grow lights. I am interested in natural remedies for humans, and, "Informative. 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. Shade, semi-shade, dryness, or available waterings don’t seem to be things that worry them too much. Yet I think they were all in my garden this summer. If you try to grow them, what I’ve learned is that catnip has a very good germination rate. That's OK. Neither of them react at all to catnip. Direct seed: Direct seed after the last spring frost or in early fall, sowing 2-3 seeds per inch. Don’t let the root system dry out as you would with a normal catnip plant. Allelopathy means the ability of plants to suppress the growth of others. Some say there is none in the stems at all, but I’m pretty sure I can smell it there too, in lesser amounts. It’s fragrant flowers also attract bees and other pollinators, which is great for the environment. For tips from our Horticulture reviewer on how to use or store your catnip, read on! Use a fine colander for basil seed collecting, as the black seeds are very tiny. It can make you calmer and help clear your mind. 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. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Soak the pellets for a few minutes. Pull new shoots when you see them, and don’t place too much soil on top of the container when you’re burying it. When the seedlings appear, anything between 2 days to 3 weeks later, … Most survived, amazingly. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. One of the elements that most attracted me to growing catnip is its propensity for showing allelopathic tendencies. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. She has been a home gardener and professional gardener since 2008. Water frequently after first planting. Catnip is a perennial herb that is native to Europe and Asia but also grows throughout North America and Africa. Then, water them every day until they germinate and start to grow leaves. These thicker stems also had further-spaced-out leaves as well as huge flowers. Is your kid begging for a dog? If the soil feels moist or wet, don’t water the plant and check it later that day or the next day. Once they’ve dried, place them in an airtight container for storage. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. If you had them as houseplants, you’ll realize just how you held them back, because their growth outside will be phenomenal by comparison. If growing a plant indoors, you should place it no more than three feet away from the sunlit window. That said, we had a surprisingly mild winter that year. It will sprout in two to three weeks if started from seed. I’m pretty sure I followed the instructions on my packet of shop-bought catnip seed, and it said to sow them thinly on compost. Catnip will grow in just about any soil, but sandier soil tends to yield more aromatic plants. Then, water them every day until they germinate and start to grow leaves. Feeding: Scratch ½ inch of compost into the top few inches of soil before planting catnip and side … 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. To grow catnip, start by scattering the seeds in small pots and keeping the pots in a sunny spot. Cutting it just above a leaf joint will promote more rapid new growth. Katherine Gohmann is a Professional Gardener in Texas. 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. We were gone on vacation and it looks like my catnip died. It will throw out roots in no time, and then you can either pot it on or put in the ground. I planted one catnip plant in full shade. ", "I wanted to grow catnip so this helped me.". While in one sense this has been a great disappointment to me, because I love watching cats react. Let your leaves sit out on a paper towel beneath a sunlit windowsill for two or three days. Do your best to keep your cat away from your drying leaves. This is what a catnip seed head looks like up close. To grow: Once catnip sprouts, thin to one plant per 20 inches. Plant them about 20 inches apart so they are able to spread and grow (they make a fantastic ground cover). Will it still come back in spring when I water it again? % of people told us that this article helped them. ", in none of the books I have is catnip mentioned. In the winter, it is dormant and can easily survive very cold weather, high winds, frost, and snow. Plant catnip seeds inside or outdoors in full sun or partial shade. So it's best to freeze them for at least a day before you begin the process of germination. For tips from our Horticulture reviewer on how to use or store your catnip, read on! Very informative and well-presented, and I have no questions, which is unusual! Yes, which means it will come back each year. If anyone knows why this happens, please drop a comment down below in the comment section. In hot and humid climates, … How to Grow Catnip. Place your plant within three feet of that sunlit window. Catnip can tolerate dry soil. I hope farmers take note and plant their pollinator-attracting catnip plants at least a foot away from their crops. For whole plants, hang them upside down in a cool location for a few weeks. Choose the Source. After this period, allow the seeds to soak in water for a period of 24 hours. Just pick off a bit of stem that is at least 2” high, remove the lower leaves, and place in water. Katherine Gohmann is a Professional Gardener in Texas. If you’re planting seeds directly into your outdoor garden, sow them as soon as any threat of frost has passed. Consider using garden fencing, bracing, or bamboo sticks to support the plants and prevent your cat from laying on them. The web is uncertain whether it needs a cold … Catnip … When kept as a houseplant, Nepeta cataria flowers continually. Keep warm but out of direct sunlight. ", "Gave me the info in a simple but complete manner. Whether you grew from seed or from a cutting, catnip will start pushing through the soil as soon as at warms up in spring. If the plants look tall and thin, place a fluorescent lamp above them … How to Proceed. You may find this happens if you live in a warm climate. 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. 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. I'm sheltering feral cats on my, "I grew some catnip from seed and needed information on how to care for the plants. Because once they grow outside in their natural environment, these become very big, bushy plants. If it doesn’t, leave it there for longer. Catnip plants are fairly hardy and quite drought-resistant, so you should be more concerned about over-watering than not watering them enough. {"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":"