I just read an article saying that catnip repels japanese beetles but all I can find in the local greenhouses is catmint. Is there a difference between the two? Or are they the same thing?
catnip vs. catmint
Not the same . Here is a photo taken a month ago of catmint (compleate with cat). It is now in bloom .sorry raining here or I would send a better photo.Catmint is a perennial and at least here catnip is an annual, that reseeds regularly here.Catnip is more upright ,looks like an agastache to me, where catmint mounds.
And this is a pot of catnip in bloom... http://davesgarden.com/journal/edit/showimage.php?eid=107043
I think there are many varieties of both.
Great looking cat Gus. Do cats like them both equally well?
Thanks you guys. I can't seem to find catnip anywhere here. I will keep looking, I have a few more places that I can check. I just started second guessing myself when all I could find is catmint. I never planted either. Thanks so much for clearing this up for me.
PetStop sells it here, live.
You might plant catnip from seed. It grows quickly and easily and will reseed next year if you let it go to seed after it blooms.
My experience with catnip is that it varies from cat to cat , but their their reaction is much more intense,than with catmint. My cats (6) vary from rubbing and laying on catnip to shredding it ,and attacking any living thing that comes near. They never have tore or destroyed catmint usually just lay on or near it and seem sleepy or peaceful. I have heard some cats have no reaction, never owned one of them.
My catmint today.
Catmint bloom.
I plant catnip inside a birdcage to prevent total destruction by the feline population here. I just take off/out the bottom of a old cage and stake it to the ground over the catnip plant. They can chew on everything that escapes the bars - but they are forced to save some for later.
What a great idea! I have had one girlie tussle with the pot till she gets it out of the pot. Then rolls around on it. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/607802/
The first few photos show her frenzy. If you had already seen it, just ignore me ~ sorry.
I currently have two who don't care, two that are enamoured with it and one that wants his dried.
i have some catnip seeds from last year if interested dmail me : ) my catnip was so so pretty a few weeks ago until......misty and windy my cats discovered it. they roll around in it and play until it is torn up completely. i got mine from petsmart as a live plant in a 3 inch pot. it was around 3.50. i have had it for 3 growing seasons now and it is now planted in a huge black pot. the pot is the kind you get large trees in. it does well in there until they enjoy it too much : 0 i have heard as well some cats have a catnip gene meaning they love it and some ignore it completely. breezy my other cat doesnt like it. hope this has helped some.
kelly
I want to comment that even "old" catnip seed will still be viable. I had some in my seed drawer for ages and thought what the heck... I planted them liberallly and think every last one came up... Catnip is easy to seed. There are also many different variations of catnip...
To those that grow catmint ~ do you start from seed or from plants?
i haven't tried the catmint. hmmm i wonder if they would like it?
I accidentally found one of my cats loved Valerian. Agressively so... I thought about getting a plant but didn't do so this spring.
I purchased my catmint as a plant several years ago. It has never seeded that I know of . I however have divided it several times.I should be very available I read somewhere it is the perennial of the year .
I believe that was Nepeta ~ Walkers Low?
That's what I was wondering, if nepeta is catmint. I think that it is. I don't have catnip, but the neighborhood cats seem to like the catmint. It blooms nicely; blooming now, mounded in shape. A popular plant here. Bees like it, too.
I have several varieties of catmint and have catnip and lemon catnip. Both are perennials here I have found that the cats LOVE the catnip and like the catmint (I find them sleeping in it). You can buy catnip here
http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/nepcataria.htm
The very first time I planted catnip I had a healthy plant about 2 feet then one day it was GONE - like someone stole it, but the crushed chives next to where it should have been led me to believe that someone or something had a party and rolled around on the chives!
This time I bought a used bird cage at a thrift shop and put it over it, which was a good thing because my two kitties ate nearly all of it - the bird cage saved the plant. However, this year they have barely touched it and it's about 3 feet tall now!
Both catnip (N. cataria) and catmint (N. faassenii) are Nepeta. These are two of the common ones ~ there are many varieties. Catmint does make a nice, mounded plant and the bees do love it.
Mobi, I wonder why your cats are ignoring it this year. Maybe they are trying to fool you into removing the cage? Cat psychology Hmmmm...
you may have to re introduce them to it. my cats had forgotten all about the catnip until.....i put them near it and now i almost wish i hadn't lol. every time it starts to grow they shred it by rolling in it. the only problem is one of my cats gets agressive towards the other kitty when she plays in it. she will run the other kitty out of it every time she spots her in it. hmmmmm i do have a old small bird cage i may just try that.
I rub some leaves with my fingers, then pet. Especially around the nose & whiskers. That will get them started...
Somebody (long ago, I don't recall who it was) wrote:
"If you set it, they'll get it,
If you grow it, they'll not know it."
This was in reference to cats and catnip, the poet was suggesting that if one grew catnip from seed, instead of transplants, that their cats wouldn't bother it.
I tried this advice; I've always grown catnip from seed, in fact. Guess my cats didn't hear this particular couplet; they've killed every catnip plant I ever planted, but this years, ---which I planted with some strongly scented tomato plants to mask catnip's scent....so far so good!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/732452/
someone is offering catnip in trading forum for postage or trade.
kelly
I've always been able to find it growing wild usually around old barns and then transplanted it. If you've ever seen it, it's easily identified by smell, square stem and
soft fuzzy leaf. Happy hunting!
I have several catnip plants, if you are interested in a cutting let me know.
Happy Day
T.