Susan W
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Posts: 1858
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:46 pm
Location: Memphis, TN

Catnip problems

I put in 2 catnip starts in a large container, keeping company with the mints. Part sun, filtered and shade. It was happy for a couple of weeks. Now leaf edges browning, then leaf going black. I keep picking bad parts off. I am thinking too much water. We've had over 10" rain in May, June starting out wet so that could be the problem! If nothing else, will try to drag it to a spot with more sun to help dry it out in the few pretty days before next wave of rain.

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applestar
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Posts: 30842
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I think you are correct. I had a very large catnip on the SE side of the house, under the overhang so no rain reached it most of the time. It was very happy there. Then last year, the rain gutter clogged (dead something in the gutter) but we didn't realize it for about a month, during which time the gutter overflowed where the catnip was whenever it rained.... The catnip drowned. :(

Happily, it had somehow started a daughter patch a little way off at the edge of a garden bed. That one is in morning shade but VERY dry spot due to the oak tree on the other side of the fence reaching in with its roots and sucking up everything it can. It's doing fine and expanding.

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RamonaGS
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Posts: 310
Joined: Thu May 16, 2013 10:10 pm
Location: Solvang, Ca

Yup! I had a problem with my catnip getting attitude with me, just like you described, and it was from over watering. I ended up having to re-pot it in a larger pot, and I made sure to mix lots of perlite in the soil, so it drained better. It worked, the plant bounced back, and did really well until my gluttonous cat found it and ate the whole thing.



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