Nepeta italica
A catmint of dry, stony slopes with whitish or pale blue flowers; like other members of the genus it offers bees nectar in midsummer.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Low
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,3-0,6 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
Nepeta italica is a hairy perennial of dry, stony slopes and openings in maquis and phrygana, from southern Italy and the Balkans to Anatolia and Iran. Catmints are among the honey bee's favourite genera in the mint family; this species too opens its small, whitish or pale blue two-lipped flowers in spike-like clusters.
Flowering
It flowers from June to August. Being drought-tolerant, it can keep flowering in midsummer, when most herbs have dried up.
Honey and pollen
It has no honey of its own, and no direct measurements of this species' nectar yield were found; the assessment is based on the general traits of the genus. Its pollen contribution is considered low.
Note for the beekeeper
In Turkey the catmint genus is represented by a large number of species and quietly contributes to highland and steppe honeys. For bee gardens, the more readily available cultivars of Nepeta × faassenii and Nepeta racemosa stand out for their long flowering.