Early, resilient and tough: Introducing Nepeta EarliBlue

When it comes to reliable, pollinator-friendly perennials, few plants have earned their stripes quite like Nepeta. It is a genus loved by growers, retailers, designers and gardeners alike. And, offering a long flowering period, drought tolerance, pollinator appeal and soft blue blooms, it’s easy to see why.

Nepeta × faassenii EarliBlue (G20-010) combines everything growers and gardeners love about Nepeta, with a series of improvements that put EarliBlue a cut above existing varieties.

At PFE, we often talk about incremental improvements in breeding. Yes, colour breaks and novel forms are exciting, but it’s the small tweaks that genuinely help growers and gardeners that really win our hearts. EarliBlue is a prime example of this. Let’s take you through why.

An early-flowering Nepeta

The name says it all. EarliBlue was selected for its exceptionally early flowering, helping growers bring colour and interest to shelves and nursery beds earlier in the season. It also gives designers and gardeners an earlier display and food for hungry pollinators in late spring.

With reduced vernalisation requirements, EarliBlue comes into flower more readily than traditional varieties, offering greater flexibility in production while delivering a longer season of garden performance.

It’s bred by renowned plantsman and breeder, Rick Grazzini, who says:

“Funnily enough, initially I didn’t think EarliBlue would become a variety in itself! It came from one of my breeding programmes, where I was focusing on early-flowering Nepetas with small leaves and a compact habit, and – crucially – constant flowering from May to November.

I selected EarliBlue and right from the get-go, it was clear this was something special. We sent it to Walberton for potential future breeding, but in the spring, EarliBlue’s superior performance spoke for itself. We knew this was the one we wanted to launch to the UK and EU markets.”

Smart plants, all season long 

One of the common niggles with many Nepeta varieties is that the lower foliage can become tired and yellow as the season progresses. EarliBlue tackles this challenge head-on.

Rather than fading towards the middle of the summer, the attractive foliage maintains its soft blue-green colour throughout the season. This helps plants remain smart in production, at retail and in the garden. The result is a cleaner, healthier-looking plant with extended ornamental value.

Reliability, whatever the weather

Summer storms can quickly spoil the appearance of Nepetas, flattening stems and causing the plant to ‘crack’ open in the centre. This reduces retail appeal as well as garden aesthetic, potentially putting designers and gardeners off using Nepetas again.

EarliBlue demonstrates impressive weather resistance, maintaining its shape and presentation even through challenging summer weather. This is thanks to its compact habit, which is the result of dense basal branching. The sheer quantity of compact, fresh growth from the base of the plant is self-supporting, shrugging off downpours and heavy winds.

A strong performer in production

EarliBlue doesn’t just perform in the garden. It also offers practical benefits for commercial growers.

The variety delivers a good cutting yield, thanks again to that basal branching, and forms large florets on thick flower spikes, creating strong visual impact in containers and landscape schemes. Plants develop into a neat mound approximately 45 cm tall and 90 cm wide at maturity, creating an excellent ground-covering habit without becoming untidy.

Visitor favourite at Four Oaks

EarliBlue’s appeal has already been recognised by the horticulture industry.

At the 2026 Four Oaks Trade Show, EarliBlue won the Visitor Vote by storm, highlighting the strong impression it made on growers, retailers and industry professionals. The award reflects the variety’s unique combination of earliness, strong garden performance and outstanding visual quality.

EarliBlue: Simply better

With earlier flowering, excellent foliage health, summer storm resistance and a long season of colour, EarliBlue represents a significant step forward in Nepeta breeding.

Whether destined for garden centres, show gardens, landscape projects or home planting, this exciting new introduction delivers the kind of reliability and performance that modern growers and gardeners are increasingly seeking.

For anyone looking to extend the Nepeta season while maintaining quality from bench to border, EarliBlue is a variety well worth watching.

Ready to trial Nepeta Earliblue?

If you’d like to bring this variety into your trials or planting schemes, we’d be delighted to help. Speak to us to discuss sourcing, trialling, or adding EarliBlue to your 2027/8 programme.

Let’s chat.