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plant pick
‘Six Hills Giant’ catmint Nepeta hybrid
As you begin to plan for flower color in your summer garden, you’d do well to include some catmint. The blooms of these hardy perennials come in shades of purple, blue, pink or white and are popular with butterflies and hummingbirds. All catmints are heat- and drought-tolerant, as well as extremely pest-resistant. On top of that they’re fragrant, too. Brush the foliage and you’ll get a pleasant herbal scent.
One of the most popular cultivars you’ll find is ‘Six Hills Giant’, with rich purple blooms and gray-green foliage. It’s more tolerant of damp conditions than other catmints and is also one of the longest-blooming members of this family. Leave enough room for this large perennial — it grows nearly 3 ft. tall and up to 4 ft. wide. Remove the faded flowers to encourage even more blooms and cut back the whole plant by one-third after the first flush of blooms has finished for a later rebloom.
TYPE Perennial SIZE 3 ft. tall, 3 to 4 ft. wide BLOOM Purple flowers from early to late summer LIGHT Full sun SOIL Well-drained, slightly alkaline PESTS None serious HARDINESS Cold: USDA zones 3 to 9, Heat: AHS zones 9 to 1
