Catnip

Catnip

Nepeta cataria

Start catnip indoors 7 weeks before your last spring frost, then plant out around your last spring frost. Space plants 18 in (46 cm) apart.

Photo: D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

When to plant

Timed from your frost dates, so it holds wherever you garden. Give yours and every step below becomes a date.

See the dates for your garden

Enter your average last spring frost and first fall frost. Every timing on this site turns into a calendar date. Not sure of yours? Your local extension service or a search for “last frost date” and your town will tell you; the app finds them from your location.

Last spring frost
First fall frost

Saved in this browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Optimal Indoor Start

From seedRecommended
  1. Start indoors7 weeks before your last spring frost
  2. Begin hardening off1 week before your last spring frost
  3. Plant outaround your last spring frost

Optimal Direct Sow

From seed
  1. Sow outdoorsaround your last spring frost

Growing catnip

Spacing in the row
18 in (46 cm)
Between rows
24 in (61 cm)
Planting depth
Surface sow or barely cover (seeds need light to germinate)
Sun
Full Sun
Hardy to
USDA zone 3
Life cycle
Perennial

Feeding

How often
Rarely: lean, fairly dry soil keeps it compact and strongly scented. Rich or fed soil makes it leggy and floppy with weaker oils.

Your catnip, planned to the day.

Canopy turns these timings into dates from your own frost data, places every plant at its spacing on your garden map, and tracks it all the way to harvest.

Add catnip to your planting calendar →

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