Catnip Seeds

Attracting bees, catnip will bloom all summer, boasting fragrant lavender-blue flowers and dense foliage on two inch tall plants. This loosely branching, low perennial offers rough, heart shaped leaves and thick stems covered in fuzzy hairs. Once catnip flowers bloom, the plant can tend to look a little scraggly. Cutting back the plant and harvesting will restore the plant, encouraging new growth and an endless supply of herbs for you and your furry friends.

• Native to parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa
• Tall-growing heirloom perennial
• Easy to grow indoors and out
• Favored by cats, but also used to make teas

Catnip is a member of the mint family and grows just as easily! Popular for its effect on cats, catnip also can be brewed as a wonderfully relaxing tea for both children and adults. Catnip loves to self-seed and you may have catnip dotting your yard if left to go to seed where they will drop and scatter. To control this, simply snip off the seed heads and share with friends and neighbors! Harvest by cutting the stems and preserve catnip's scent by air-drying the foliage. You can begin harvesting after your plants reach about six inches or taller.

Be mindful of where you plant catnip if choosing to plant outdoors. Catnip spreads very easily, reseeding and taking over any surrounding area it can reach. To avoid this, plant your catnip indoors, plant in a pot or container outdoors, or if planting in the garden, cut back your catnip plant often.

An easy-to-grow plant, catnip yearns to please by growing in poor, dry, sandy soils where little else thrives. Catnip prefers full sun or partial shade and is drought tolerant, thriving in soils with a pH of about 6.6. Start seeds indoors near a sunny window about six weeks before transplanting outdoors, after the danger of the last frost has passed. Add aged compost to your planting site, turning it under. Make shallow furrows and cover the catnip seeds with 1/8 inch of loose soil. Thin or transplant seedlings to about 12 inches apart when they reach two inches in height.

Keep your catnip plants full by pinching them back when flower buds appear. Use caution when transplanting outdoors, as bruising the leaves will release oils that attract cats. Water your plants only when the soil is dry. Cut catnip back to the ground in the spring to improve growth and appearance for the next blooming season.

A premier online supplier of Catnip Herb Seeds, Eden Brothers offers three catnip seed varieties for sale. These varieties include Eden Brothers' Catnip Seeds, Lemon Catnip Seeds, and Catmint Seeds. For large jobs, contact Eden Brothers for wholesale prices.

For more information about planting, growing, and caring for catnip seed, see the Catnip Seeds Planting Guide.