Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Six Hills Giant catmint, tall catmint (Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant').

More about nepeta 'six hills giant'

About Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant'

Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' · also called Six Hills Giant catmint, tall catmint · flowering

Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' is a large, vigorous catmint forming billowing mounds of grey-green aromatic foliage smothered in long spikes of lavender-blue flowers from early summer. Exceptionally bee-friendly, drought-tolerant and easy, it is a classic for softening path edges and rose borders. A hard cut-back after the first flush triggers a strong second bloom into autumn.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Mid-season collapse: The clump can splay open and look tired after the first flush. Shear hard by a third to a half to trigger fresh growth and a second bloom.

The reasons nepeta 'six hills giant' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming nepeta 'six hills giant' traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding nepeta 'six hills giant' a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get nepeta 'six hills giant' to flower

Maximise sun. Give nepeta 'six hills giant' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for nepeta 'six hills giant' and get the feeding right with the nepeta 'six hills giant' fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full nepeta 'six hills giant' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my nepeta 'six hills giant' flower?

Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make nepeta 'six hills giant' bloom?

Give nepeta 'six hills giant' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does nepeta 'six hills giant' normally bloom?