Catnip and catmint are used as if they were the same plant — on labels, in catalogues, and in almost every conversation about cats and gardens. They are not. Both belong to the genus Nepeta, both are in the mint family, and both are magnets for bees, but they are different plants with different jobs. One is a tall, slightly scruffy herb grown for its leaves and for the reaction it provokes in cats; the other is a low, silvery, lavender-blue border plant that most cats walk straight past. Buy the wrong one and you will either have a disappointed cat or a herb sprawling where you wanted a neat path edge. Here is how to tell them apart, and how to decide which one — or both — belongs in your garden.
- Catnip Nepeta cataria — 60–100 cm, upright, white flowers, high nepetalactone, the one cats respond to
- Catmint Nepeta mussinii (syn. racemosa) and hybrids — 30–45 cm, mounded, lavender-blue, ornamental
- Both hardy perennials, full sun, free-draining soil, drought-tolerant, superb for bees
- From seed both easy — but named catmint cultivars are sterile and only come from cuttings
The short answer
If you want a plant your cat will roll in, grow catnip — Nepeta cataria. If you want a soft haze of blue along a path or the front of a border, grow catmint — usually Nepeta mussinii. Everything else follows from that single difference in purpose: catnip is a herb, catmint is an ornamental. The confusion exists because "catmint" is also an old English common name for N. cataria itself, so a plant sold as catmint might be either. The only reliable label is the botanical name, which is exactly why we list them separately under Nepeta cataria and Nepeta mussinii.
What actually differs: the plants side by side
Put the two together in a border and nobody would mistake them. Catnip is upright and a little coarse, with heart-shaped, grey-green, toothed leaves and a strong, sharp, minty smell when brushed. Its flowers are small, white, and finely speckled with purple, carried in dense whorls at the top of tall stems from June to September. It has the presence of a herb rather than a flower, and it is happiest in a herb bed or a rough sunny corner.
Catmint is lower, denser and considerably prettier. It makes a spreading mound of small, silvery-grey aromatic leaves smothered in lavender-blue flowers from late spring, and if you shear it after the first flush it repeats until autumn. It flops elegantly over path edges and paving, and it sits beautifully with roses, lavender and salvia — plants that want exactly the same hot, dry, free-draining conditions.
The scent differs too. Catnip smells sharp and slightly medicinal; catmint is softer and more lemony. And both are relentlessly worked by bees — see our guide to building a pollinator garden for bees and butterflies for how to plant them for maximum effect.
The cat question: why one works and the other barely does
The active compound is nepetalactone, a volatile oil stored in the leaves and stems. Nepeta cataria contains far more of it than the ornamental species, which is why it produces the full performance: rolling, rubbing, chirping and a blissful ten to fifteen minutes, followed by an hour or so of immunity before it works again.
Catmint is not inert — plenty of cats will nibble and flatten a clump of N. mussinii, and gardeners who grow it near a path know this well. But the response is milder and less reliable. Two other points are worth knowing: roughly a third of cats carry no functional receptor at all and will ignore both plants entirely, and kittens under about six months rarely respond. If nothing happens in your garden, it is genetics rather than anything you did wrong.
Which one should you grow? Five questions
- Is it for the cat, or for the border? For the cat and the tea jar, catnip. For a long-flowering edging plant, catmint. This one question settles most of it.
- How much space have you got, and where? Catnip needs 45 cm and looks best in a herb bed; catmint spreads 45–60 cm wide but stays low, so it works at the front of a border or in gravel. Both need full sun and sharp drainage — start with our soil preparation guide.
- Do you want to grow it from seed? Both species come easily from seed. But named catmint cultivars such as the popular Nepeta × faassenii types are sterile hybrids — they are only propagated from cuttings or division, so seed sold as "catmint" is almost always N. mussinii. That is the one that comes true.
- Do you want to harvest it? Only catnip is worth cropping. Cut whole stems as the buds open, dry them in the dark, and store airtight — the method is in our catnip growing guide and the general principles in harvesting and storing produce.
- Are you planting for bees? Then grow both. Catmint carries the early and mid-season nectar, catnip takes over from midsummer to the frosts. Add them to a wider scheme with bee-friendly flowers and wildflowers.
Catnip — Nepeta cataria
The herb. Grown for leaves, tea and cats.
- 60–100 cm, upright, slightly coarse habit
- Heart-shaped grey-green leaves, sharp minty scent
- White flowers speckled purple, June–September
- High nepetalactone — the strong cat response
- Self-seeds freely; short-lived but replaces itself
- Seed: Catnip Seeds (Nepeta cataria)
Catmint — Nepeta mussinii
The ornamental. Grown for months of blue.
- 30–45 cm tall, spreading mound 45–60 cm wide
- Small silvery-grey leaves, softer lemony scent
- Lavender-blue flowers, May–September if sheared
- Milder, less predictable effect on cats
- Long-lived clumps; divide every few years
- Seed: Catmint Seeds (Nepeta mussinii)
Growing them: where the care differs
The basics are identical. Both want full sun, poor to average free-draining soil, and no feeding — as our guide to feeding and fertilising explains, nitrogen on an aromatic perennial buys soft, floppy growth with less scent. Both are drought-tolerant once established, so water deeply and rarely using the approach in our watering guide, and cut the dead top growth to the ground in late autumn.
Three practical differences are worth knowing. First, pruning: catmint responds spectacularly to a hard shear immediately after the first flush of flowers, coming back with a second display within a few weeks — do not be timid, take it back to about a third of its height. Catnip prefers a gentler cut back by a third. Second, self-seeding: catnip scatters offspring generously, catmint far less so, and sterile hybrid catmints not at all. Third, cats: young catnip plants are genuinely at risk of being flattened, so protect new sowings with a wire cloche or a few crossed twigs until they toughen up.
Sowing timing is the same for both. The main window is March to May indoors or late April onwards outside; there is a useful second window in early September, which behaves much like the plants in our guide to autumn sowing hardy annuals. Reading this in mid-August? See what to sow in August, browse seeds to sow in August, or check every herb month by month in our herb sowing calendar. If you are sowing from an old packet, it is worth checking it first — our guide to how long seeds last explains the simple germination test.
Common mistakes
- Buying by common name alone — "catmint" on a label can mean either plant. Check for cataria or mussinii.
- Expecting a cat reaction from ornamental catmint — some cats respond, many do not. Grow N. cataria if that is the point.
- Planting catnip at the front of a border — it is 90 cm of herb, not an edging plant. Catmint is the one that stays low.
- Burying the seed — both need light to germinate. Surface-sow and dust with 2–3 mm of vermiculite; see our germination guide.
- Rich soil and generous watering — produces lush, weak, less aromatic plants that flop and mildew.
- Never shearing catmint — skip the mid-season cut and you get one flush instead of two, plus a woody, gappy middle.
Frequently asked questions
Is catmint the same as catnip?
No. Both are Nepeta, but catnip is Nepeta cataria, the aromatic herb with white flowers and a strong effect on cats, while catmint usually means Nepeta mussinii and its relatives — lower, blue-flowered ornamentals with a much milder effect. Confusingly, "catmint" is also an old common name for N. cataria, so always check the botanical name.
Will cats react to catmint?
Some will. Ornamental catmint contains nepetalactone, just far less of it, so responses are weaker and less consistent. If you want a guaranteed reaction from the roughly two-thirds of cats that are genetically susceptible, grow catnip.
Can I grow catmint from seed?
Yes — Nepeta mussinii comes readily from seed and flowers in its first or second year. The named hybrid cultivars are sterile and can only be propagated from cuttings or division, so if a catalogue offers catmint seed, it is the species you are getting.
Which is better for bees?
Both are excellent, and they complement each other. Catmint flowers earlier and longer, especially if sheared, while catnip carries the nectar supply from midsummer into autumn when many border plants have finished.
Grow one, or grow both — they are among the most forgiving perennials you can raise from seed, and neither asks for more than sun and sharp drainage. Browse catnip and catmint, or by botanical name at Nepeta cataria and Nepeta mussinii. Look through our wider range of herb seeds, perennial herbs and organic herbs, their relatives mint and lemon balm, or the blue flowers and perennial flowers that suit the same dry, sunny spot. Browse all our seeds, or dig into the rest of our growing guides.
