Multi Buy

Size Guide

3.5
3.5" Perennial
3 or more $6.00 ea
Regularly: $6.99 ea

Catmint 'Kitten Around'

Scott's Nursery Ltd.

$3.50
Title

Bring big cottage-garden impact to the smallest spaces with this delightfully miniature garden jewel. It forms an ultra-compact, tightly packed dome of soft, aromatic blue-green foliage that becomes completely buried beneath a dense cloud of colour. The tightly clustered flower spikes feature vibrant periwinkle-blue blossoms emerging from showy, deep rosy-purple calyxes. Its rich, high-contrast glow delivers non-stop energy and sharp definition to tight borders, modern rockeries, and patio containers.

Size

Visit Us

Delivery

Warranty

Plant Details

Mature Size:

12" H x 20" W

Zone:

3-8

Watering:

Low

Type:

Herbaceous Perennial

Growth Rate:

Fast

Light:

Full Sun

Plant Profile

Common Names:

Kitten Around Catmint, Dwarf Ornamental Catmint, Compact Faassen's Catmint

Scientific Name:

Nepeta 'Kitten Around'

Type:

Filler / Spiller / Dwarf Ornamental

Growth Details:

Mature Size: 12 to 14 inches tall and 18 to 22 inches wide.

Growth Habit: Ultra-compact, heavily branched, tight mounding habit.

Form: Dense, rounded cushion.

Growth Rate: Fast.

Flowering: Packed, dense terminal spikes of small tubular flowers.

Flowering Time: Early summer through early autumn (Continuous from June to September if sheared back).

Flower Colour: Periwinkle-blue blossoms with deep rosy-purple calyxes.

Environmental Needs:

Exposure: Full sun.

Soil Preferences: Lean, gritty, average, or sandy soils with sharp, rapid drainage.

Soil Tolerance: Highly resilient in poor, dry, or rocky soils; completely intolerant of soggy, waterlogged winter ground.

Watering: Low to moderate. Allow the soil to dry out significantly between watering intervals.

Container Role: Functions as an elite, tightly mounded Filler or compact Spiller in shallow patio bowls and window boxes.

Special Features:

Disease Resistances: Exceptional natural immunity to common garden pests, powdery mildew, and leaf spot diseases.

Native Species: No (A refined modern cultivated hybrid).

Fast Growing: Yes.

Attracts: Intensely alluring to butterflies, honeybees, wild bumblebees, and hummingbirds.

Uses: Pathway edging, small-scale rockeries, low hedging, container gardens, and xeriscaping.

Resistance: Highly deer-resistant and rabbit-resistant due to the pungent mint oils in its foliage. Exceptional drought and heat tolerance.

Care Guide

Ornamental & Landscape Value

Seasonal Interest:

Bloom Information: Highly showy flower spikes completely envelope the green foliage cushion for months on end.

Fall Colour: Foliage retains its clean blue-green color and sweet herbal fragrance well into late autumn before dying back to the ground.

Garden Value:

Ornamental Interest: Aromatic, small, scalloped leaves topped by highly showy, two-toned purple-and-blue flower spikes that retain their colour even after blooming finishes.

Landscaping Uses: Ideal for framing narrow walkways, small-space city courtyards, alpine rock gardens, front-of-border ribbons, and mass groundcover accents.

Garden / Landscape Benefits: One of the most compact catmint varieties available, it stays completely organized and will never flop open in the center or aggressively invade neighbouring plants.

Wildlife & Human Value:

Wildlife Value: Provides a vital, reliable, season-long nectar station for valuable native wild bees and migrating butterflies. Cats may find the aromatic foliage playful and irresistible.

Human Value: Delivers a clean, manicured, "finished" border edge along harsh hardscape lines like concrete driveways and patios with zero mowing or maintenance required.

Planting & Care Guide

Planting Considerations:

Best Time To Plant: Early spring after heavy frosts pass, or early autumn to let roots settle before winter.

Spacing: Space individual plants 18 inches apart to allow the compact domes to meet uniformly without overcrowding.

Location Tips: Select open, breezy, sun-baked spaces; avoid low garden hollows where rain or snowmelt pools.

Companion Plants: Pairs beautifully with Red Coral Bells (Heuchera), yellow Coreopsis 'Leading Lady', dwarf White Shasta Daisies, and low creeping Sedums.

Care:

Light Requirements: Demands absolute full sun to preserve its signature dwarf, ultra-dense structure and maximize flower production.

Moisture Requirements: Needs regular watering during its first season to establish roots; becomes highly drought-tolerant and self-sufficient once mature.

Maintenance, Fertilization: Low-maintenance. Shear the spent flower spikes back by half after the initial early-summer flush to clean up the mound and trigger a fresh wave of autumn blooms. Avoid heavy fertilizers or compost, which cause the tight stems to stretch and flop.

Tolerances:

Punishing summer heat, extended drought, poor rock-filled soils, and severe winter cold.

Tips For Success:

Thinning / Pinching: Not required due to its naturally dense, heavily branched dwarf genetics.

Support / Staking: Completely unnecessary; naturally holds itself in a tight, structural mound through wind and rain.

Special Needs: Absolute soil drainage is vital; avoid placing directly beneath water-retaining organic mulches.

Mulching: Use a thin layer of fine gravel or sand mulch around the root collar to deflect surface moisture.

Winter Protection: Leave the spent winter stems intact to insulate the crown, then cut them down completely to ground level in early spring before new shoots emerge.