Product Description
Nepeta 'Lemon Purrfection' PPAF CPBRAF - Proven Winners® (25) Bare Root Plants
Common Name: Catmint
Prepare to be captivated by Nepeta 'Lemon Purrfection', a truly golden addition to the world of Catmints. This Proven Winners® selection is a compact and exceptionally tidy plant that promises a dazzling display of color throughout the season. Its allure lies in the harmonious combination of vibrant lavender-blue flowers emerging in early summer, set against a backdrop of striking golden yellow foliage. What makes 'Lemon Purrfection' truly remarkable is the unwavering brilliance of its foliage color, which retains its golden hue without fading, even through the intense heat of summer. In areas with increased shade, the leaf color will lean more towards a lively chartreuse, offering subtle variations. This cultivar is a continuous bloomer, providing a season-long spectacle of flowers without the need for manual cutbacks to stimulate rebloom. Compared to similar varieties like 'Chartreuse on the Loose', 'Lemon Purrfection' boasts a more polished appearance with a denser, more compact habit, making it an excellent choice for refined garden designs. As a member of the mint family, it naturally exhibits excellent resistance to both deer and rabbits. When Nepeta stems are broken, they release a distinctive aroma known to attract cats, giving rise to its charming common name, Catmint. Nepetas, in general, are celebrated as easy-to-grow perennials that deliver a consistent and beautiful show of color from early summer until fall.
- Height: Matures to a compact height of 10 to 12 inches (25-30 cm).
- Spread: Forms a dense, spreading clump with a width of 16 to 18 inches (41-46 cm).
- Foliage: Distinctive golden yellow foliage that remains vibrant throughout the summer. In shadier conditions, the leaf color may shift to a more chartreuse shade. The leaves are aromatic when brushed or broken.
- Flowers: Produces abundant lavender-blue flowers that appear in early summer and continue to bloom continuously without deadheading.
- Bloomtime: Offers an exceptionally long blooming season from Early Summer through Midsummer, Late Summer, and into Early Fall.
- Flower Color: Blue shades (Lavender-blue)
- Foliage Color: Yellow shades (Golden yellow to chartreuse)
- Bloomtime: Early Summer, Midsummer, Late Summer, Early Fall (Long Blooming, continuous bloom)
- Growth Rate: Medium
- Attracts Wings: Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Hummingbirds, Bee Friendly
- Critter Resistant: Deer Resistant, Rabbit Resistant
- Other Features: Border Plant, Container Plant, Cut Flower, Cut Foliage, Dried Flower, Drought Tolerant, Easy to Grow, Edging, Fragrant Flowers, Fragrant Foliage, Attractive Foliage, Mass Planting.
Nepeta 'Lemon Purrfection' is a patented and plant breeder's rights protected variety (PPAF CPBRAF), signifying its unique and desirable horticultural traits. Its standout feature is the vibrant contrast between its golden foliage and lavender-blue flowers, providing a fresh and energetic look to the garden. This cultivar's compact and dense habit, coupled with its continuous blooming without intervention, makes it a superior choice for low-maintenance yet high-impact landscaping. Its inherent deer and rabbit resistance add to its appeal as a robust garden performer.
While 'Lemon Purrfection' is a cultivated variety, the genus Nepeta is native to a wide range of temperate regions across Europe, Asia, and Africa. These species typically thrive in dry, open, and often rocky habitats, which explains their excellent drought tolerance and preference for full sun and well-drained soils.
Landscaping Design Tips
'Lemon Purrfection' is an incredibly versatile and attractive plant for numerous garden applications, particularly where vibrant color and low maintenance are desired.
- Front of the Border & Edging: Its tidy, compact habit and continuous bloom make it an ideal choice for lining the front of garden beds, defining pathways, or edging patios. The golden foliage provides a cheerful base for the lavender-blue flowers.
- Mass Planting: Create a stunning visual impact by mass planting 'Lemon Purrfection'. Large drifts of this catmint will form a vibrant carpet of golden-yellow foliage topped with lavender-blue blooms, offering continuous color, excellent weed suppression, and attracting a multitude of pollinators. This is particularly effective in perennial borders, informal meadows, or large-scale garden designs.
- Hot, Dry Garden Spaces: With its exceptional drought tolerance and preference for full sun, it excels in challenging hot and dry areas, rock gardens, or xeriscapes, providing reliable color where many other plants might struggle.
- Patio Containers: Its compact size and continuous bloom make it an outstanding choice for patio containers, window boxes, or mixed planters, bringing its bright colors and fragrance close to outdoor living spaces.
- Pollinator Gardens: A magnet for beneficial insects, 'Lemon Purrfection' is an essential addition to pollinator gardens, attracting butterflies, hummingbirds, and a wide array of bees throughout its long blooming season.
- Cottage & Eclectic Gardens: Its informal charm and abundant blooms fit beautifully into Cottage Garden aesthetics, while its unique foliage color makes it a lively addition to Eclectic designs.
- Fragrant Gardens: Plant near seating areas or pathways to enjoy its pleasant, minty fragrance released by its foliage when brushed or touched.
- Attractive Foliage Focus: Utilize its consistent golden-yellow foliage as a bright contrast to darker green plants or to add warmth to cooler color palettes in the garden.
Nepeta 'Lemon Purrfection' is a highly cold-hardy perennial, reliably growing and thriving in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 8. This wide hardiness range makes it suitable for cultivation in many different climates.
Planting and Cultivation (Bare Root)
- Bare Root Planting: Upon receiving bare roots, immediately unpack and inspect them. If dry, rehydrate by soaking in lukewarm water for 30-60 minutes. Prepare a planting hole that is wide enough to comfortably spread out the roots and deep enough so that the crown (where the roots meet the stem) is at or just below the soil surface. Gently spread the roots outwards. Backfill with soil, lightly firming around the roots to eliminate air pockets. Water thoroughly immediately after planting.
- Sunlight: Requires Full Sun (more than 6 hours of direct sun per day) for optimal growth, vibrant foliage color, and prolific flowering. Increased shade will result in a more chartreuse foliage color.
- Soil Requirements: Prefers ordinary, well-drained soil. It is highly adaptable and tolerates Poor Soil Quality to Average Soil Quality. It thrives in Neutral Soil (pH = 7.0) to Alkaline Soil (pH > 7.0). Excellent drainage is crucial to prevent root rot, especially in winter.
- Water Requirements: Has Low Water Needs to Average Water Needs once established. It is highly drought-tolerant, making it an excellent choice for water-wise landscapes. Water regularly during the first growing season to ensure proper establishment, then reduce frequency as the plant matures.
- Shearing (Optional): While 'Lemon Purrfection' blooms continuously without being cut back, an early spring shearing can promote a more compact and bushy habit. Historically, cutting back Nepetas by half after their first bloom cycle stimulated a second bloom, but this cultivar is bred to bloom continuously without this intervention.
- Maintenance: Generally very low maintenance. Its continuous bloom habit means no deadheading is required for rebloom.
- Pest and Disease: Highly resistant to common garden pests like deer and rabbits. Generally free from significant disease issues.
Mature field grown roots shipped bare root.
Other Details
The most important part of the plant is its root system. Healthy roots are the foundation of a healthy, vibrant plant. The type of plug container used is based on the specific needs of the plants. Perennials offered as bare root traditionally perform better when planted as bare root.Planted in a specialized mix, potted plants have well established root systems. Top growth stage will vary depending on the current life cycle and time of year when shipped. In Winter and early Spring dormant plants may be shipped. Dormant plants may be planted right away, even before the last frost date.
Most bare root varieties are field grown for at least one season, though Hemerocallis and Hosta are grown for two seasons. The bulk of the soil is removed during the harvesting process and the tops of most varieties are trimmed back to the crown. They are graded, packed in shredded aspen or sphagnum moss and stored in freezers until ready to be shipped.
See our Container Sizes and Bare Root Perennials pages for more information.
Plant information and care is provided in the Overview section, Plant Genus Page and general information is provided in the Planting Care & Guides. Additional questions can be asked on each Plant page.
Plant Spacing: Using the maximum mature spread or width of a plant to guide spacing, ensures space to grow to full size. To fill an area sooner, plant them closer together. Just remember, future thinning or transplanting may be needed.
Water: Keep a close eye on newly planted perennials, especially throughout the first growing year. Most early plant loss is due to too much or too little water!
