Blog by Brenda Altman

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Snugs lives in a garden of earthly delights! His favorite snack of course, is catnip (Nepeta cataria). It grows well here in Vallejo. It’s a herbaceous perennial that thrives in full sun.  It has multiple stems and grows in a tight cluster. Here, it does not die back in our mild winter weather. 

Catnip is in the Mint family; it has many characteristics of that family, including square stems and aromatic leaves. Salvia, lavender, oregano, basil, marjoram, spearmint, and peppermint are all in this family.  Many of these plants make excellent teas, and herbalists use them for holistic remedies. Because of their strong aromatics, some of these plants are also used to repel mosquitoes

It’s the chemical neptalactone that attracts the vomeronasal gland (olfactory and taste sense in the roof of the mouth) of cats. Some cats just like to smell it, but Snugs loves to eat it. Snugs shares his bounty with his neighbor cat friends, who sneak over for snacks.

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It grows back for several years in a row, and it is easy to grow from plants or seed. To maximize growth and aroma, pinch the flowers when they appear. Mints tend to spread out. Keep them in containers or thin them out and cut the roots. I have several escaped mint plants that keep growing in different places. 

Sources: keywords “catnip” “mint” “laminceace”
Wikipedia
PetMD https://petmd.com
Wisconsin Horticulture https://hort.extenstion.edu
Brittania [https:www.brittania.com]https:www.brittania.com