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Most of us have heard of Catnip, and cat lovers might even gift their beloved pets with a bit of this intoxicating treat now and then, but not many of us actually grow this plant in our gardens. I suspect the reason for that is that most gardeners don’t want every cat in the neighborhood prowling through their gardens and rolling around through their plants. Nonetheless, you will occasionally find Nepeta cataria, Catnip, in seed catalogs and nurseries. It is classified as an herb, as it falls within the mint family, and its leaves can be used to flavor things like soups, stews, and pasta. Some cats find the scent of the leaves stimulating, while for others it seems to act as a sedative. Far more common in gardens, however, is the related plant known as Catmint, Nepeta faassenii. Catmint shares many of the same characteristics as Catnip, even down to the scented leaves, but it doesn’t draw nearly as much feline attention. In particular, the cultivar known as ‘Walker’s Low,’ named the 2007 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association, has become a mainstay of modern gardens. What makes Walker’s Low Catmint drive gardeners wild?
mingbirds to the garden. Right: Catmint flowers. Both photos: D. J. Stang, CC BY- SA 4.0 
For starters, it is tremendously easy to grow. It tolerates hot, sunny, and dry locations, though it will also do well in partial shade with average moisture. It has an extended bloom time, often starting to produce its lavender purple flowers in early spring and continuing through fall. Cutting back spent blossoms periodically will maximize the floral show, but Catmint will continue blooming even if left unattended. Pollinators that include bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, love the nectar-filled flowers. Even in periods before or between blooming, the silvery-gray foliage is attractive, and provides a nice contrast to the true green color found in most other garden plants. It also pairs nicely with plants that have purple or yellow foliage.
Walker’s Low Catmint grows to a height of about 18-24 inches high, and a width of 2-3 feet. Though it is not native, it behaves well in our gardens, spreading quickly but not aggressively and not reseeding nearly as profusely as its relative Catnip. Because it is adaptable to different types of garden conditions, Catmint can be grown in a variety of settings, from a standard perennial garden to a rock garden or a pollinator garden. It could also be used in an herb garden. While the leaves can be used in teas, Catmint is more of an aromatic, sensory herb than a culinary herb. This plant also looks great when several plants are grown together in mass groups, so it can be used along walkways, near entrances, under mailboxes, signs, or structures. Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705.
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I’m sure I’ve already outed myself as a plant geek at this point, but let’s just go ahead and cement my geekdom by talking about plant names for a minute. Sometimes I think that the coolest part of being a botanist or plant breeder is that if you discover or create a new plant, you get to name it whatever you want. Sometimes they name it after themselves, or a fellow botanist who may have been a mentor or inspiration (see the many plants with the species name wilsonii after Ernest Henry Wilson). Other times they name it after a loved one such as a spouse or family member. Countless flower cultivars of various species have women’s names in them, and I imagine each of them as a botanist husband’s attempt to apologize to his wife for spending long hours at work by naming something beautiful in her honor. Still other times, the names simply describe the appearance of the plant itself or describe something it does. For instance, butterfly bush is a bush that attracts butterflies, while button bush is a bush that has flowers shaped like buttons, and so forth. How about a plant that incorporates a person’s name and also describes exactly what it looks like? Look no further than the plant commonly known as Red Hot Poker, and known botanically as either Kniphofia uvaria or Kniphofia praecox. The name Red Hot Poker comes from the appearance of the flower, which looks quite a bit like a torch on a long stem. Dozens of individual tubular flowers cluster in a floral shape known as a raceme, and collectively resemble a flame with a mix of red, orange, and yellow components. These flowers emerge in late spring and early summer, on a stalk that may reach 2-4 feet in height. One can easily imagine using the stalk as a handle while poking someone or something with the red-hot flame at the tip. Presumably, that is exactly what 18th century German botanist Johann Hieronymus Kniphof (or whomever named the genus Kniphofia in his honor) had in mind.
Name aside, this is a relatively easy garden plant to grow, one that thrives in the often difficult hot, dry, sunny garden locations that cause many a weaker plant to shrivel and wilt during the peak of summer. Sandy soils are fine, but poorly drained soils that retain too much moisture are not ideal, particularly during the colder months. Kniphofia will generally grow to a width of about 2-3 feet, and though it doesn’t like to disturbed from its original planting place, it will produce many offshoots that can be severed and relocated or shared with gardening friends.
The flowers are a favorite of bees, hummingbirds, and even a few songbird species. Cutting back spent blooms will encourage a late summer/early fall rebloom. Many cultivars exist with variations on the traditional flower color, including ‘Lemon Popsicle’, ‘Peachy Cheeks’, ‘Orange Blaze’ and many others. Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705. In the plant world, our favorites often evolve and change over time. This can be due to new plants that are introduced into the nursery trade that have showier characteristics or better pest resistance than the old favorite they are replacing. It can be due to property size and available space in the average landscape decreasing over time, changing how we choose to allot our space to plants. It may simply happen due to our own changing tastes. Gardeners may use terms like ‘old-fashioned’ to describe plants that were once very popular and are now relatively rare, while those that have stood the test of time without decreasing in popularity might instead be called ‘classics.’ Bee balm probably falls somewhere in the middle of these two somewhat arbitrary designations. It’s certainly not quite as popular as it once was in the average home landscape, due in part to its aggressive spreading habit (it is a member of the mint family, after all) and in part due to the relatively common occurrence of powdery mildew on many varieties. That said, bee balm is still quite common in public gardens and larger landscapes, due to its reliable summer color display. In fact, with the increased popularity of pollinator gardens, butterfly gardens, native gardens, and edible landscaping, it is quite easy to find ways to make bee balm fit into a variety of landscape situations.
The most common form of bee balm is Monarda didyma, a herbaceous perennial that grows 2-4 feet tall and at least that wide. Flowers can range from dark red to light pink or lavender, the shape of which somewhat resembles a spider, having a central round flower head surrounded by slender colorful bracts pointing outward like legs. Flowers can last from early July into September. While this species is prone to powdery mildew as I mentioned, many varieties such as ‘Jacob Cline’ and ‘Petite Delight’ have strong resistance to this problem. Periodic thinning out of large plantings will increase air flow, which also helps limit powdery mildew.
Bee balm is a great fit for pollinator plantings because it has a long bloom period and attracts a variety of important pollinating species. These include honey bees, bumble bees, a number of lesser-known native bee species, ruby-throated hummingbirds, swallowtail butterflies, and sphinx moths. The flowers are edible, and have been used to flavor teas, jellies, soups, stews, and in salads. Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Infoline at 252-902-1705. |
Matt Stevens
Pitt County Extension Director & Horticulture Agent Archives
June 2025
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