plant named ‘Catwalk Queen’

Botanical denomination:x

Variety designation: ‘Catwalk Queen’.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofnamed ‘Catwalk Queen’. The new plant resulted from a cross at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Michigan between the unnamed, proprietary hybrid known only as 20-1-1 (not patented) as the female or seed parent and the unnamed, proprietary hybrid known only as 20-1-2 (not patented) as the male or pollen parent directed by the inventor in the July of 2021. Seed was harvested in the late summer of 2021 and eventually assigned the breeder code 21-1-1 in the trial process. ‘Catwalk Queen’ was approved in a final evaluation in the summer of 2023 and slated for later introduction. The new plant was selected based on the compact habit, large flowers, and repeat blooming following trimming. The new plant has been asexually propagated by tip cuttings at the same nursery with the resultant plants remaining identical to the original plant, stable and true to type in successive generations.

‘Catwalk Queen’ is different from its parents and all other Catmint known to the inventor. In comparison to the female parent the new plant is more compact and shorter. Compared to the male parent the new plant is also shorter and more compact.

The nearest comparison varieties known to the inventor are: ‘Blue Dragon’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,334, ‘Cat's Meow’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,472, ‘Cat's Pajamas’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 31,127, ‘Kitten Around’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 30,940, ‘Novanepjun’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,074, more commonly known as ‘Junior Walker’, ‘Picture Purrfect’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 34,502, and ‘Summer Magic’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,090.

Compared with ‘Novanepjun’ the new plant is more compact with smaller leaves, larger flowers, and shorter habit. Compared with ‘Walker's Low’ (not patented) the new plant is less than one-half the landscape size and is more compact with larger flowers. In comparison to ‘Blue Dragon’, ‘Cat's Meow’, and ‘Summer Magic’ the new plant is more compact and shorter than each cultivar and has larger flowers. ‘Kitten Around’ has smaller flowers and is more rounded and less flat in habit. ‘Catwalk Queen’ flowers earlier than ‘Cat's Meow’, ‘Kitten Around’, and ‘Novanepjun’. ‘Cat's Pajamas’ is slightly larger in habit and has smaller flowers. ‘Picture Purrfect’ has a looser habit and smaller flowers.

The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with changes in the environment such as light, temperature, water and nutrient availability, etc. without a change in the genotype of the plant.‘Catwalk Queen’ is unique from all other catmint known to the inventor in the following combined traits:

The following descriptions are based on a two-year old plant of‘Catwalk Queen’ grown in a full-sun trial garden in sandy loam with supplemental water and fertilizer as needed. The color references are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. The new plant has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype.