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Light requirements

How much light does Six Hills Giant Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii 'Six Hills Giant') need?

Also called Six Hills Giant catmint, tall catmint.

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.

Comfort temperature: 15-27°C

The exact light six hills giant catmint needs

Six Hills Giant Catmint is a sun worshipper — it wants the brightest, most direct light you can physically give it indoors, and starves in the "bright indirect" most houseplants enjoy.

Put a number on it — this is what a meter (or a free phone light-meter app) should read where six hills giant catmint sits:

In plain terms, An unobstructed south-facing window (or west), pressed right up against the glass — 0 to 2 ft back. Several hours of genuinely direct sun on the leaves is the target, not just a bright room. North windows and anywhere more than a few feet from the glass. A spot that grows pothos perfectly will slowly etiolate six hills giant catmint.

Not sure how to read the light in your home? Our light meter guide walks through measuring footcandles and lux with a free phone app and turning the reading into a placement decision for six hills giant catmint.

Signs six hills giant catmint is getting too much light

The most exposed leaves show it first. For six hills giant catmint specifically, watch for:

Light damage does not heal — a scorched leaf stays scorched — so the fix is to move six hills giant catmint out of the harsh light rather than wait for it to recover.

Signs six hills giant catmint is not getting enough light

Too little light is slower and sneakier than too much. The classic tell is etiolation: the plant stretches and pales as it reaches for a window. For six hills giant catmint, look for:

If six hills giant catmint is stretched, leggy and pale, our guide to leggy, stretched plants covers how to fix it and whether it can be pruned back into shape. Treating six hills giant catmint like an average houseplant and parking it "in a bright room" away from the glass. For a sun lover, indirect light is a slow decline — it stretches, weakens and stops flowering long before it ever dies.

Where to put six hills giant catmint: the best window and room

Indoors, the only reliable spot for six hills giant catmint is hard against a south or west window. Outdoors in summer it is happiest in full sun once hardened off over a week. A sunny conservatory, glazed balcony or the brightest windowsill in the home is ideal; a north room will never be enough no matter how "bright" it feels to your eye, because eyes adjust to dimness far better than plants do.

  1. Find your brightest window. For six hills giant catmint that means a south or west window with no tree, awning or building blocking it. East is a distant third; north will not do.
  2. Put it right at the glass. Place six hills giant catmint within 0–2 ft of the pane so the sun actually lands on the leaves. Every foot back roughly halves the light it receives.
  3. Harden up after any move. Moving from a dim spot to full sun? Increase exposure over 7–14 days so the leaves acclimatise, or even a sun lover will scorch.
  4. Rotate and recheck seasonally. Quarter-turn the pot weekly for even growth, and reassess in autumn — the same window gives far less light in winter.

Does six hills giant catmint need a grow light?

Six Hills Giant Catmint is one of the few houseplants where a strong grow light genuinely earns its place: in a dark flat, a high-output full-spectrum LED run 10–12 hours a day, kept close, can replace the south window it cannot get. Weak desk lamps will not cut it for a sun lover — match the intensity, not just the colour.

The seasonal light shift (why winter changes everything)

From October to February the sun is low, weak and short. Six Hills Giant Catmint that thrives on a summer windowsill can stall or etiolate over winter even in the same spot. Move it to the very brightest window for the dark months, clean the glass, and accept slower growth — or supplement with a grow light. It will not need feeding while light is this low.

Light and watering are linked: a plant in weaker winter light photosynthesises and drinks far less, so the same routine that worked in summer can rot it. See how often to water six hills giant catmint for the season-by-season schedule that pairs with this light plan.

Six Hills Giant Catmint light requirements — frequently asked questions

How much light does six hills giant catmint need?

Six Hills Giant Catmint needs Roughly 1,000–2,000+ fc at the leaf (a high-light plant). Around 10,000–20,000+ lux — full, direct sun, not filtered. An unobstructed south-facing window (or west), pressed right up against the glass — 0 to 2 ft back. Several hours of genuinely direct sun on the leaves is the target, not just a bright room.

Can six hills giant catmint survive in low light?

No, not really. Six Hills Giant Catmint is a sun lover — in low light it etiolates: it stretches, pales, weakens and slows right down. It will not instantly die, but it steadily declines and never looks its best.

What are the signs six hills giant catmint is getting too much light?

Bleached, washed-out leaf colour and dry, papery brown scorch patches where the midday sun hits hardest. Crispy edges on the most exposed leaves while shaded ones stay fine. Scorch right after a sudden move into raw sun without hardening off over a week or two. Treating six hills giant catmint like an average houseplant and parking it "in a bright room" away from the glass. For a sun lover, indirect light is a slow decline — it stretches, weakens and stops flowering long before it ever dies.

What are the signs six hills giant catmint is not getting enough light?

Etiolation — six hills giant catmint stretches, the gaps between leaves lengthen, and growth gets pale, thin and floppy reaching for a window. Weak, leaning, leggy stems and a generally faded, drawn-out look. Few or no flowers, and far slower growth than a well-lit specimen of the same plant. If you see this, move six hills giant catmint closer to the light or add a grow light — and check our guide on leggy, stretched plants.

Does six hills giant catmint need a grow light?

Six Hills Giant Catmint is one of the few houseplants where a strong grow light genuinely earns its place: in a dark flat, a high-output full-spectrum LED run 10–12 hours a day, kept close, can replace the south window it cannot get. Weak desk lamps will not cut it for a sun lover — match the intensity, not just the colour.

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