Hardys Cottage Garden Plants
Nepeta 'Leeds Castle'
Nepeta 'Leeds Castle'
In propagation
Couldn't load pickup availability
Plants are dispatched in growing condition and may not be in full flower. If too tall to pack safely, we may cut them back — this helps them establish more quickly. Read our Mail Order FAQs.
Also known as Nepeta 'Longipes', 'Leeds Castle' is the accepted name for this distinctly upright catmint. Softly hairy, aromatic grey-green leaves form a tidy clump, and from late spring through to midsummer slender spires of pale lilac-blue flowers rise on light purple bracts, drawing bees and other pollinators in numbers.
Its upright habit makes it well suited to the middle of a sunny border, where it holds its own without flopping. Give it free-draining soil — chalk, sand, gravel, or loam all suit it well — and it will reward you with reliable, season-long colour. A useful note on aftercare: the stems are square and hollow, so resist the urge to cut back in autumn. Leave the plant to die back naturally; the hollow stems provide overwintering habitat for beneficial insects, and the structure looks handsome rimed with frost.
Height × Spread: 35 cm × 45 cm