AboutDarlene K. Kittle Expertise I have been a Master Gardener for 20 years and I raise around 300 houseplants a year including tropicals, succulents, and cacti.
Experience She is also studying the Japanese art of bonsai with tropical plants and is President of the Fort Wayne, IN Bonsai Club.
Education/Credentials I am not a hortculturist. I am a Purdue University Master Gardener for over 20 years. I have studied plants on a personal level by growing hundreds of plants annually for the last 35 years. I have also studied under several nationally known American Bonsai experts.
I "adopted" a bonsai tree a couple of months back, which I managed to nurse back into health again after it had been left behind after a roommate whom moved out.
a couple a weeks ago now, suddenly a different kind of plant sprouted up beside the bonsai, and has overtaken it.
so I was wondering if you knew what kind of plant it might be.
My first thoughts was either a tomato plant, or a paprika plant, tho I don't seem to find any which matches the leaves nor stem of "my" plant.
it's grown pretty fast, tho I suppose all "youngling" do. it does smell kinda strange when you touch either the leaves or the stem. Sort of a strong smell.
plant info:
it's about 50 cm high now.
it's in a good sized pot, plenty of space to grow.
it's about 3 weeks old.
I water it every 2-3 days, city water. no clorine.
giving it plant nurish with the water every week.
I am sending you some pictures of it.
hopefully I won't have to ponder anymore of what it might be. either way, it's a pretty plant in it's own way. green and healthy.
regards,
newebie plant lover from Norway.
Answer William,
If you were a cat you would love that strong smell and it would cause you to go a little goofy! The plant is Nepeta cataria, better known as Catnip. It sounds like you are doing a fine job raising it. Besides being a favorite of cats it is used sometimes as a tea for humans. You can get more info on it at Wikipedia:
