# Honey Bees Love Catnip!



## suziebees

Yes, and CatMINT. I have a plant that's about 4x4' this year and is LOADED with honeybees and native pollinators all day long. Good stuff, those Cat-plants.


----------



## mountainmanbob

Catnip, that's nice to know. The Mountainlady went and bought some plants the other day just for our bees. She bought honey suckle, culpea and something else. If it makes her and the bees happy, then I'm happy.

A lot of joy shared with our new hive here.

Mountainman


----------



## BeeBop

Yes, our catnip is blooming now also. Many many bees!


----------



## aunt betty

There is catnip growing all over one of my bee yards and I can testify that they work it over daily.


----------



## suziebees

Yes, at least around here (denver) my catnip has been nonstop blooming all summer. It's my biggest recommend to anyone who wants to make their yard bee-friendly.


----------



## beepro

We have feral cats in our yard year round.
I guess the cats like the catnip or catmint too?
Will the cats ruin my plants if I grow them in my yard for the bees?
This is my concern all along that the cats might make some damage to these plants. Any
problem with the cats in your cat-plants patch? Maybe I should just fence them in, huh.


----------



## BeeBop

Once the plants get well established they should be fine but small plants will often get trampled and rolled on and grazed by the cats until they're gone.
One place I lived I grew a small patch for my cats but the neighborhood cats destroyed it my first 2 attempts. I finally built some 5 sided boxes about a foot cube made out of a very heavy 1/2" mesh screen. The screen box was put over the the plants so the cats couldn't trample them to death, but once the 'nip got big enough to grow out of the box then the cats could have their way with it.

If you have a lot of cats around you'll probably need to fence or protect it until it's big enough.
Where I live now my catnip goes unmolested because the only outdoor cats around here are cougar and bobcat. meow.


----------



## beepro

Yes, a heavy duty stock fence will do until
they grow bigger. Have plenty of those around in my
yard. Thanks much.


----------

