Catmint

Catnip (Nepeta cataria), called billi booti in Urdu, is a hardy mint-family herb best known for its effect on cats but more usefully grown as a pollinator plant and a folk remedy across the cooler parts of Pakistan. POWO records its native range as southern Europe to central Japan and northwest Morocco, now naturalised through most of the temperate world.¹ For a food-forest grower it earns a corner of the herb layer as a tough, drought-tolerant insectary plant.

Where it thrives

Catnip is a perennial that originated in Europe and Asia and gets its name from the strong scent that cats find attractive.² It needs good drainage and full sun to part shade, tolerates many soil types, and is resistant to drought, dry soil and air pollution, though somewhat intolerant of heat and humidity, so afternoon shade is helpful in hot zones.² Wisconsin Extension adds that it thrives in poor soils and is fairly drought tolerant once established.³ Across Pakistan that points the plant at the Pothohar plateau, the KPK hills and the Murree foothills, with annual or shaded plantings workable on the Punjab plains during the cool season.

Role in the system

Catnip sits in the groundcover stratum as a secondary, soft-woody perennial that reseeds readily where it is happy.³ Its pale lavender flower spikes are heavily worked by honeybees, bumblebees, hoverflies and small butterflies, so a few plants on the edge of a vegetable bed double as a pollinator station and a soft insectary.² The strong volatile oil also repels some pest insects, which is the basis for the modern interest in nepetalactone as a natural fly and mosquito repellent.

Growing it

Start seed indoors a few weeks before the last frost, or take divisions from an established plant in spring.³ Set plants 18 to 24 inches apart in well-drained soil; gritty loam beats heavy clay here. Shear off flower spikes after the first bloom to push a second flush and to reduce self-seeding, which can otherwise spread plants beyond their welcome.²³ Cut hard back to the ground after the last flowering to keep stands tidy. Harvest leaves and flowering tops as the first flowers open, when essential-oil concentration is highest, and dry in shade to preserve the volatile fraction.

What you get

The aromatic leaves can be chopped fresh into soups, stews, sauces, vegetables or pasta, and steeped for a mild calming tea long used as a folk remedy.² The active chemistry is dominated by Z,E- and E,Z-nepetalactones, with peer-reviewed work documenting their effect as the source of the cat response and as effective insect repellents against stable flies and mosquitoes.⁴ The cut-and-dry crop is also sold as toy stuffing in Pakistani pet markets, a small but reliable side income for a kitchen garden.

Sourcing notes

Seed is the easiest start for a single plant; once one healthy clump is in, divisions will give better plants than reseeding.⁴ Good neighbours are squash, brassicas and beans, where catnip’s volatile load helps push back flea beetles and squash bugs. Keep cats and the planting bed in line of sight when siting, since a few rolling visits will flatten young plants; a low wire cage over the first season solves it.

Sources

1. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2024). “Nepeta cataria L.” Plants of the World Online.
2. NC State Extension (2024). “Nepeta cataria (Catnip).” North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
3. University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension (2023). “Catnip, Nepeta cataria.” Wisconsin Horticulture.
4. Gomes, E.N. et al. (2024). “Implications of the Propagation Method for the Phytochemistry of Nepeta cataria L. throughout a Growing Season.” Molecules.