Getting it to bloom

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

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

More about six hills giant catmint

About Six Hills Giant Catmint

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

Six Hills Giant is the tallest, most vigorous garden catmint, sending up arching stems of grey-green foliage smothered in violet-blue flowers from early summer to autumn. Tougher and bigger than common catmint, it makes a billowing front-of-border drift, edges paths and underplants roses. Bees adore it, and shearing after the first flush guarantees a strong rebloom.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons six hills giant catmint isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming six hills giant catmint 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 six hills giant catmint 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 six hills giant catmint to flower

Maximise sun. Give six hills giant catmint 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 six hills giant catmint and get the feeding right with the six hills giant catmint 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

Six Hills Giant Catmint 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 six hills giant catmint care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Six Hills Giant Catmint blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my six hills giant catmint flower?

Six Hills Giant Catmint 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 six hills giant catmint bloom?

Give six hills giant catmint 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 six hills giant catmint normally bloom?