Name that plant
Details:
-
Date Photo Taken
10 / 08 / 2013
-
Season Photo Was Taken
Fall
-
Region Photo Was Taken
Northeast
-
City
Boston
-
State
Massachusetts
-
Posted by
aspinfo
Notes:
bought a house this year with 4 or 5 of these little shrubs/bushes. they were all cut back from winter and came up this year surprisingly fluffy and with a strong mint aroma. i had always heard actual mint was dangerous to plant in open ground as the roots will make it impossible to remove the plant without quite a bit of excavation, but these seemed to be confined to their little circular shape.
Comments
aspinfo Apprentice says:
the leaves do look like nepeta and they smell like mint, although never saw any purple flowers, just green leaves.
October 9th, 2013 at 11:44am
stone Master Identifier says:
Looks like Nepeta… possibly Nepeta cataria (catnip) My cats used to spread it around after eating it… but otherwise, did not spread like mint. There are other species of nepeta… I like mints because of the great pollinator action they get… Maybe try planting your mints in the yard where they can be kept in check by mowing? mint is a bit aggressive for the veggie garden, but difficult to keep going in those containers…
October 9th, 2013 at 11:49am