Dwarf catmint
* Common name: Dwarf catmint
Catmint ‘Junior Walker’
Star Roses and Plants/Conard-Pyle Co.
* Botanical name: Nepeta fassenii
* What it is: A silvery/gray-leafed, blue-flowering, mint-scented perennial that blooms for months in summer to early fall. Dwarf types, such as ‘Junior Walker,’ ‘Kit Cat,’ ‘Blue Ice’ and ‘Little Titch,’ are particularly compact, not floppy like the species. Very heat- and drought-tough, attracts bees and butterflies, and deer- and rabbit-resistant.
* Size: 15-18 inches tall with a 2½- to 3-foot spread.
* Where to use: Any hot and dry spot, such as sunny banks, in a sunny mixed border, in a rock garden or along south- and west-facing house-foundation beds. Best in full sun. Avoid wet clay.
* Care: Needs little, if any, water or fertilizer once established. Also no spraying. The main care is to cut plants back to 2 or 3 inches at the end of winter, then give them a light trim right after the first flush of bloom ends.
* Great partner: Interplant with purple coneflowers or pink garden phlox.