Buying early catnip and planting it in the garden is not a feat. If you're looking for a little challenge and love watching small seeds grow into pretty perennials, you should grow catnip from seeds.
When and how is catnip sowed?
To sow catnip, you should sow suitable seeds in seed containers or pots between March and April, keep them 5 cm apart, cover them with soil, place them in a bright, warm place and keep the soil moist. Germination occurs after 1-4 weeks.
Choose suitable seeds
If you already have catnip and want to propagate it, you can use its seeds. But be careful: not all catnip varieties are fertile and produce seeds.
Well-suited and popular varieties include the citrus-minty-smelling catnip 'Odeur Citron' or the white-flowering variety 'Snowflake'. The variety 'Suberba' forms a nice contrast to 'Snowflake' and is considered widespread.
Depending on which variety you choose, your choice of location will later depend on it. Grey-leaved varieties like it warm and dry. Green-leaved varieties grow best in a partially shaded and moist location.
Sowing – from beginning to end
The best time to sow catnip seeds is between March and April. The seeds should be encouraged to germinate by June at the latest. Otherwise, the likelihood that the catnip will bloom in the same year becomes less and less.
How to proceed:
- Sowing seeds in seed containers or pots
- Keep a distance of 5 cm between the individual seeds
- cover lightly with soil
- place in a bright and warm place
- Keep soil moist
Depending on the temperature, it takes between one and four weeks for the seeds to germinate. The ideal substrate for growing is sandy-loamy, slightly acidic and low in nutrients. When the plants are 5 cm tall, they are planted in a suitable location. They should only be released into the wild after the Ice Saints in May.
Attention: Feel free to sow seeds on your own
Since catnip likes to sow itself, you don't necessarily have to take the sowing into your own hands. If you want to prevent self-sowing, cut off the withered inflorescences after the main flowering in summer.
Tips & Tricks
When you place the seeds in the ground and cover them with a thin layer of soil, you should tamp the whole thing down well before flooding it with water. Otherwise there is a risk that the tiny seeds will swim away from their intended place.