Nepeta Faassenii 'Kit Kat'

Finally a Truly Compact Nepeta!

As a group, the various forms of Nepeta faassenii, commonly called Catmint, have a lot going for them. They are long-lived, easy-to-grow, drought tolerant and long-blooming. The deer don't like them and the butterflies love them. In fact in some gardens nepeta is the perennial that is most attractive to butterflies, rivaling even the shrub butterfly bush. Nepetas are widely used in English perennial borders massed as a foreground plant, and as an edger. To date nepetas have had one major drawback, they tend to sprawl in a floppy manner. A few years ago a variety called 'Walker's Low' was introduced from England and was quickly heralded as the long sought compact nepeta. When 'Walker's Low' proved to be just as tall-growing and floppy as the other nepetas, it turned out that 'Walker's Low' is the name of a place in England and has nothing to do with the height of the plant. Now with the 2006 introduction of 'Kit Kat', there is finally a compact neater Nepeta faassenii.

Add Continual Summer Color to Your Garden

'Kit Kat' will add color to your garden throughout the summer. The leaves are grey-green and are toped with spikes of small clusters of lavender blue flowers from June until August. At 15-18 inches high, it is not only smaller in height, but smaller in all of its parts. 'Kit Kat' has smaller leaves and flowers, but the flowers are much more numerous than other nepetas. It will thrive in sunny, dry areas, but also tolerates light shade, if the drainage is good. 'Kit Kat' is ideal as an edger, especially for an herb garden, as well as for summer color massed in front of shrubbery or to dress down foundation plantings.

Planting and Care

  • Plant 24 inches apart in well-drained soil.

  • Shearing the plant back in the springtime will promote even more compact growth.

  • Cutting plants back by half, after each bloom cycle, stimulates additional bloom cycles.

  • Fertilize with Flower-Tone.

  • Hardy in Zones 4-8.

    • Click here to view 'Kit Kat' on the Carroll Gardens website.