PlantFiles: Faassen's Catmint, Ornamental Catmint
Nepeta x faassenii 'Six Hills Giant'

This plant is actually OK in less than full sun. Over the years the branches of some neighboring trees have encroached into a once sunny area of my garden. But this plant has continued to come back regardless and flowers abundantly. I never bother deadheading it and it still flowers continuously. It does like a support hoop, though, but once the plant has grown out for the season the hoop completely disappears in the foliage.

I love this cultivar. It is a well-behaved, clumping plant. The bees *love* the spires of flowers and they're wonderful for cut flower arrangements.

Catmint has become my new "fav" in NM Zone 6b-7a. I have 4 diff. cultivars in my yard. My first Six Hills Giant came from a reputable nursury in a gallon container and got a slow start. After one month in full sun until late afternoon, in a new bed with good drainage and composted soil, this plant is now perfectly mounded and 2ft. across. My sister's who bought at the same time, same place is not as amazing NM zone 7a-8. It is in average, uncultivated, unamended soil. LOVE THIS PLANT!! I'll keep you posted as all the different cultivars in my garden grow!

A nice filler plant for a large bedding area. Mine is 3 yrs old and is about 3 feet across but very floppy as mentioned earlier. Very long blooming, drought tolerant and will rebloom lightly if trimmed back after inital bloom flush ends.

If I were to buy a catmint again it would more than likely be Walkers Low which is suppose to be more compact.

This is quite "floppy", but still a beautiful plant. Once the first set of blooms is gone (which takes quite a while), cut the entire mound, and it will re-bloom. Very easy to divide.

I absolutely love this cultivar and I've tried raising 6 Hills Giant in varous places in my garden, most of which have turned out too wet, should we have above average moisture like it's been the past 3 years. My late cat, Bella, who loved to go out into the garden to mouse, was enamored of this particular type of Nepeta and would roll around in it luxuriously as part of her daily routine in the summer.

When she passed away (from old age), I planted one of these on her grave - it's the only one that survives and continues to bloom year after year!

Nepeta needs full sun and very well drained soil. This cultivar is particularly beautiful and long blooming - mine usually from late June through close to frost.

This plant isn't *completely* sterile--I've had a few "volunteers" turn up in other parts of the garden. It's fairly sterile, though. My cats LOVE this plant, and will sit under it in summer, inhaling the aromatic oils and getting completely stoned. The blue flowers and small leaves are attractive, too. The plant gets large, though.

This plant makes a large mound, completely covering everything else within 2 feet of it unless it is a strong and sizable neighbor.
It makes quite a statement in the garden with its numerous violet-blue flowers and very nice foliage.
It often needs to be trimmed a bit at the end of summer to give it a neater appearance.

For a long-blooming plant in the garden, this one is hard to beat! It is a sterile hybrid, so you don't even have to keep deadheading it!