Anyone growing catnip?

I can find pictures of what a leaf, or a leaf section looks like, but I can't find out what the whole plant will look like at say, maturity? Anyone have photos or tips?

I am replaning most of my flower beds, and make a few new ones. SO my brown tumb is being suppressed as much as possible!

I have these things from the previous owner... "hostis"/ I beleive or something like that, last year they grew to be about 3-4.5 feet in diamter. I'd like to break thm up into smaller sections and spread them.... but I am afraid to kill the orginal plant! There are a few others that I gave them a chance last year,thy didn't flower, even though there was quite a few - so out they go this year, replaced with something that at least I know is not a weed! I did dig up the entire garden just right to the entryway - when we moved in, it had the most gorgeous and LARGE furns growing were you would traditional see evergreen bushs and such. They were STUNNING.... until a heave wind and rain storm came. Smooshed them all down, and then they just gave up and turned black. - Most of those are gone this year, I left a few of the smaller ones on the side of the house that I still am not to sure what I want to do.

Any suggestions on easy to take care of flowering plants, and everygeeen tree, shrubs or vines? I am an open book at this point.

Did get my first bird bath yesterday - I think I want to put it outside the one full length window in the back of the house - but there are birds on the otherside of that window-so I am not sure if that is going to be wise. My next though, was the front yard garden, that window is a bay window with a seat... a seat that the cats use..... Hmmmm...

Open to any and all ideas!!!!!!

Catnip gets pretty big, I'd say 3-4 ft tall by 2-3 ft wide. It's just a weed in our yard, we didn't plant and don't do anything, except if we see it growing we don't cut it down.
Mostly it grows in my asparagus patch!

I'm no green thumb, but I have dug up big hostas and split them into sections and replanted. I don't think you will kill them doing so, and if I remember right, spring is the time to do it!

I got some from PetSmart and am growing it from the live plants they have there.
Does that count???

Everytime we try to grow Catnip we always forget about it and it dies!

Sierra has just received a catnip growing kit, and we're looking forward to planting it it! Our last effort didn't turn out very well, it just wouldn't grow! I used to have some catnip planted outside that came back year after year with no effort at all.

I was given a cutting last year by a friend, I don't know if it'll grow again this year.

She did warn me to grow it in a container as it can get out of hand and overtake the garden, much as mint does, as it's from the same family. Just thought I'd pass that on.

A good evergreen plant is the Camelia and the flowers are gorgeous! They are pretty easy to grow - but require watering quite a bit. I can't remember off hand how big they grow, but it is pretty large - you can always keep it pruned back to keep a smaller shape!

We have 2 small catnip plants in pots. We rotate which one comes in the house so Oliver can prune them.

If you do grow catnip in your garden - get used to a garden full of cats! The plant will usually look quite flat, because the cats like to roll about on it. I honestly couldn't say what a mature plant should look like, as all the ones I've seen have been pancake shaped!

As far as the hostas go, you can split them up, it will do them good. You need to dig up the whole plant, just as it's beginning to produce new shoots. Get an old bread knife, or similar, and cut from the top, right through the root mass. If your plants have been undisturbed for a time, you will find the root mass is very big, and you can get lots of new plants from it. Try to cut it so that each section has half a dozen shoots to the section. Then put them in pots for a while, just to let the roots get over the shock! Then you can plant them out. They may take a year to get into producing flowers, but they will eventually, so be patient!

Evergreen shrubs: I like Euonymus (often have variegated leaves), it's slow growing but reliable. Also winter Jasmine, for the brilliant yellow flowers in dead of winter, they really cheer me up!

Sue

Hi! You can buy catnip seeds or a plant from the herb section of plants at Wal-mart, etc. Good luck!

Originally Posted by batgirl2good

Hi! You can buy catnip seeds or a plant from the herb section of plants at Wal-mart, etc. Good luck!

Click to expand...

You can buy small plants for about $1.50 in their garden department too.

Walmart trip!

Thanks for the notes about them taking over, I will be sure to put them on the edge of the forest - so if they take it over - oh well!

Hmmm how risky would it be to grow catnip in my garden?

Guinness is a loon as it is... he would have a constant supply of his "drug"... He would be going giddybananas on a daily basis...

Nah... I think I will just stick to the catnip drops that he gets every few days!

Go to this website: extionsion.osu.edu/lawn_and_garden.
I cruised around this site and there is alot of info.
Or the Ohio state university website and find the extension link.
The county that you live in will also have a extension office. You can buy a good number of newsletters really cheap and they will be tailored to the state of Ohio.
Or you can PM me as I do landscape design as a side business and have lots of books I can refer you to!!!
Plus I specialize in hostas (I have close to 200 varieties!!) and other perennials.

We have two or three catnip plants in our yard every year. I'd go out and take some pictures if it weren't nearly 9:30 p.m. here, and dark. If the winter is mild, they survive, but if the temperature is sub-zero for several days or weeks, they die. Our yard is the preferred neighborhood cat meeting place, but whether hubby has gotten the "right" catnip for any given year seems to be a matter of luck.
Here's a picture from howstuffworks.com : http://science.howstuffworks.com/fra...ic/plant07.htm