Nepeta 'Kitten Around'

Nepeta 'Kitten Around': Petite Blue Edging, Always Neat

'Kitten Around' is a catmint that refuses to take life too seriously. A tight little mound of grey-green leaves covered in periwinkle blooms and rosy calyxes. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Nepeta × faassenii 'Kitten Around'
• Common Name: Catmint
• Height: 30–35 cm (12–14 in)
• Spread: 50–55 cm (20–22 in)
• Flowers: Periwinkle blue with bright rosy purple calyxes
• Bloom Time: Early summer to early fall (June to September)
• Foliage: Aromatic, grey-green leaves in a tight, rounded mound
• Features: Rabbit resistant

Where to Plant: It's sized for the front of a border, edging along a path, small gardens, rock gardens and containers, and a row of them makes a soft blue edge that stays neat. It also handles the hot, dry strip along a driveway or sidewalk, where fussier plants give up.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Kitten Around' in a sunny, dry bed with red pasque flowers, colourful rosettes and lemon coneflowers. Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Red Bells' opens red pasque flowers at 15 to 30 cm in April and May. Sempervivum 'Sunset' tucks in at the front at 8 to 10 cm with colourful rosettes. Echinacea Sunny Days™ 'Lemon' adds double lemon-yellow coneflowers at 55 to 75 cm from July to October. Schizachyrium 'Ha Ha Tonka' stands behind at 90 to 120 cm with blue-green blades tinged red.

Plant Care: Plant it in full sun, in poor to average, well-drained soil. Catmint gets floppy in rich, wet soil, so skip the compost and fertilizer. Water through the first season, then only in long dry spells. Shear it lightly in spring to keep it compact. Once the first flush of flowers fades, cut it back by about half for a second round of bloom. Clean up the old stems in late fall or early spring.

History: 'Kitten Around' was bred by Hans Hansen at Walters Gardens in Michigan, from a 2012 cross using the catmint 'Purrsian Blue' as the seed parent. It was selected to be even more compact and petite than 'Purrsian Blue'.

Final Thoughts: Low maintenance, drought tolerant, and the deer and rabbits find it boring. Plant it along the edge. SERIOUSLY, WE'RE NOT KITTEN.