CATNIP (Nepeta cataria)

Labiatae (Lamiaceae; mint family)

Also known as Catmint, catnep, catrup, catwort, English catnip, field balm, nep, nip

DESCRIPTION

• Catnip, a hardy perennial that grows 0.6 to 1 m (2 to 3 feet) tall, is native from the eastern Mediterranean region to the western Himalayas, central Asia, southern Siberia, and China. Most cats love catnip and purr contentedly, tear delightedly, and roll in ecstasy on its crushed leaves. The generic name Nepeta comes from the Italian town Nepete, where catnip was once cultivated.

• Light green, scalloped, opposite leaves have heart-shaped bases, pointed tips, and velvety, grayish-white undersides. The edible leaves, which have a strong mint-like, warm, pungent, bitterish fragrance and flavor, grow in massed profusion before the plant flowers. After the blossoms appear, the leaves become more sparse.

• Catnip has erect, square, branching stems that are covered in soft hairs. The root becomes quite woody and branched with age. Each spring the root sends up an increasing number of new items, many of which are rather close together.

• Produces spikes of small whitish or pinkish, purple- or red-dotted flowers in midsummer.

• May be grown indoors for winter use.

• Catnip is an excellent honey plant.

CULTIVATION NOTES

• Catnip grows bushiest in well-drained, moderately rich soil, although it also grows well in dry, sandy soil. Add a light layer of compost to the top of the soil before planting. Recommended pH range is 4.9 to 7.5.

Culinary Herbs for Short-Season Gardeners

Thrives in partial shade, but can be grown in full sun.

• Grows easily from seed, which should be started indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost date. Sow seeds no more than 6 mm (¼ inch) deep. Seedlings usually emerge in 8 to 10 days.

• Space transplanted seedlings 30 cm (12 inches) apart.

• Can also be propagated by dividing the roots in the spring or fall, or from softwood or stem tip cuttings. Cuttings from young plants tend to root more quickly, often in just a week. Stem cuttings should be about 10 cm (4 inches) long. Grow rooted cuttings to about 15 cm (6 inches) in a moist medium before you transplant them to the garden.

• Catnip self-sows easily, so be prepared to remove unwanted plants. Weed as Required.

• For bushier plants, pinch flower buds as they appear.

• Usually pest-free, but susceptible to rust and root rot.

• Cats are the biggest problem confronting catnip gardeners. Give young plants a chance to get established by enclosing them in a sturdy chicken wire cage, which will protect them from enthusiastic felines. Cats are drawn to catnip only when the branches are broken or the leaves are bruised, thereby releasing the attractant chemicals, so if the plants aren’t damaged, cats will probably leave them alone.

• Overwinters outdoors up to zone 3.

• Indoor plants should be potted in moist, but not soggy soil that is supplemented with lime. Plants need at least 5 hours of direct sunlight daily. Prune as required, as plants are inclined to become scraggly.

HARVESTING NOTES

• Pick leaves for fresh use at any time throughout the summer, although the taste is milder if you pick the leaves before the plant flowers. Collect the leaves in the morning, after the dew has evaporated.

• To dry catnip, harvest complete stems, including the flowering head and the tender leaves. Cut stems about 5 cm (2 inches) from the ground, and hang upside down in a shady location. When dry, strip off the leaves, crumble them, and store in airtight jars out of the light.

CULINARY USES

• Catnip was a familiar herb in English kitchen gardens as far back as the 13th century. Catnip leaves were once used for rubbing meats before they were cooked, and were chopped and sprinkled into green salads. Snip a few leaves into your salads and see how you like it.

• Add fresh or dried leaves to soups, stews, and hearty sauces.

 

HARVESTING NOTES

• Pick leaves for fresh use at any time throughout the summer, although the taste is milder if you pick the leaves before the plant flowers. Collect the leaves in the morning, after the dew has evaporated.

• To dry catnip, harvest complete stems, including the flowering head and the tender leaves. Cut stems about 5 cm (2 inches) from the ground, and hang upside down in a shady location. When dry, strip off the leaves, crumble them, and store in airtight jars out of the light.

CULINARY USES

• Catnip was a familiar herb in English kitchen gardens as far back as the 13th century. Catnip leaves were once used for rubbing meats before they were cooked, and were chopped and sprinkled into green salads. Snip a few leaves into your salads and see how you like it.

• Add fresh or dried leaves to soups, stews, and hearty sauces. Make a refreshing, soothing cup of tea by pouring 250 mL (1 cup) of boiling water over

15 mL (3 teaspoons) of fresh leaves or 5 mL (1 teaspoon) of dried leaves. Alternatively, add dried catnip leaves, along with dried mint or dried lemon balm, to your favorite black tea.

CRAFT USES

• Sew cat toys and stuff them with uncrushed dry leaves for all your favorite felines.

MEDICINAL USES

• In traditional folk medicine, catnip was used to treat everything from cancer, insanity, nervousness, nightmares, scurvy, and tuberculosis, to colic, diarrhea, flatulence, hiccups, whooping cough, the common cold, measles, asthma, yellow fever, scarlet fever, smallpox, and jaundice. Catnip poultices were applied to hives, and to the sore breasts of nursing mothers.

• Catnip does have sedative qualities and is occasionally used in herbal medicine as a calmative and to treat insomnia.

• Catnip is not used in modern Western medicine.

CAUTIONS

• Catnip has some capacity to cause uterine contractions and stimulate menstruation, so you should avoid it if you are pregnant or suffering from menstrual disorders.

• While a cup of catnip tea is helpful if you don’t sleep well at night, the herb’s diuretic properties mean that your peaceful sleep may be disturbed by an urgent need to go to the bathroom.

• It has been said that catnip may be smoked like marijuana; however, there is no proof that this herb has the intoxicating effects of marijuana. Nevertheless, your suspicions may be justified if young people of your acquaintance seem unusually interested in your catnip plants.

• Bees like catnip, so make sure there are none in the flowers that you pick.

CULTIVARS AND RELATIVES

Here’s a cultivar you won’t have to fight over with your cats quite so much.

• Lemon catnip (N. cataria var. citriodora). Has an appealingly mild lemon aroma, which you may prefer over regular catnip Makes a delicious tea. When candied with egg white and sugar, the leaves make a refreshing after-dinner mint. In the belief that catnip roots made even the kindest person mean, early American hangmen used to eat the roots before executions to harden themselves for their work. While most cats are affected by catnip, not all felines are “nipaholics.” Apparently, a dominant gene is responsible for inheriting the euphoric response. It also appears that cats do not react in their customary delighted way to catnip until they are 3 months old.