Pacific Northwest Gardening: Giant catmint, 1 by bonehead

bonehead wrote:
I'm reading great reviews of a new catmint - Nepeta grandiflora 'Wild Cat' - has anyone tried this? I have a row of roses that border a pasture fence, with the ensuing field grass always trying to creep into the roses. I thought I'd dig out a border on the field side of the fence and plant something that can mingle with the grasses OK and also provide a nice backdrop for the roses. This catmint apparently gets from 3-4' tall (depending on who is reporting it) and as wide, has darker blooms, doesn't need staking or pruning or deadheading. Sounds like the ticket to me. I'm looking for pretty easy-care. No animals anymore so it's now kind of fun to expand my beds into the fields a bit and use the fences as a feature rather than a boundary.

Here are the roses in early spring before the field grass took off. I also lost a couple roses this winter, which I haven't replaced yet - any suggestions on easy care floribundas? I don't like the upkeep of the tea roses (all hand-me-downs and disease/fungus/bug prone) and prefer a looser form. Knockout?

This message was edited Aug 3, 2011 10:15 AM