Is Perennial Schizonepeta the Same as Catnip? Seed Prices, Growing Techniques and Benefits Explained

Schizonepeta, also known as Xiangjingji, Xianji, Silengganhao and Jiasu, is a perennial plant of the Lamiaceae family, genus Schizonepeta. So is Schizonepeta the same as catnip? What is the approximate seed price per jin? What are the growing techniques? What are its benefits and effects? According to a Hubei seed company, Schizonepeta seeds cost about 34 yuan/jin, with a sowing rate of 4-5 jin per mu; it flowers each year from June to July, and the seeds mature from September to October. It can be used both medicinally and as food, making it a good project for making a profit in agriculture.

Is Schizonepeta the same as catnip?

No. Catnip has a mild taste with a hint of coolness, while Schizonepeta has a strong, pungent taste. What they share is that both can disperse wind, but they are best used in summer. Used in winter, catnip is cooling, while Schizonepeta is a pungent, warm fever-reducing herb; it is one of the commonly used Chinese herbal medicines, able to calm phlegm, dispel wind and cool the blood. It treats influenza, headache with chills and fever, sweating, and vomiting.

What are the growing techniques for Schizonepeta?

1. Nursery plot selection

Schizonepeta is distributed in producing areas in Gansu, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Hebei, Guizhou, Hubei and other places, and has an extremely strong ability to adapt to the environment. Schizonepeta by nature likes a growing environment with plenty of sunlight, warmth and moisture, and is not strict about soil quality; it can generally be sown in ordinary soil. However, it grows better in loose, fertile soil. Schizonepeta is intolerant of waterlogging and drought, so the planting site must not have water-accumulating low-lying plots; Schizonepeta is tolerant of high temperatures, and large seedlings like a dry, well-ventilated growing environment.

2. Land preparation

1. Deep plowing: plants grown at a Schizonepeta site are planted at relatively high density, and fertilizing during the growing period is difficult, so most of the base fertilizer is broadcast before planting and plowing; 3-4 tonnes of organic fertilizer can be used per mu, and more base fertilizer should be used for continuous cropping. After evenly spreading the base fertilizer on the ground, plow to a depth of about 25 cm; the soil should be fine and crumbly, preferably with no large clods.

2. Making beds: fields without irrigation conditions do not need beds and can be broadcast-sown in the open field. Land with irrigation conditions should be made into fixed beds 1.5 m wide, with bed lengths of 10-30 m, and the soil should be raked level.

3. Sowing

Schizonepeta seeds have a very high germination rate, so there is no need to pre-sprout them before sowing; simply broadcast them and rake soil over to cover them.

4. Seedling-stage management

Loosen the soil, water and fertilize.

What are the benefits and effects of Schizonepeta?

1. Schizonepeta can be used to stop bleeding, and can also treat incomplete rash eruption; it is used to dispel wind and treat wind-cold colds.

2. Schizonepeta can treat fever and headache caused by wind-cold, especially headache without sweating.

3. Schizonepeta can be used to treat symptoms of incomplete or unsmooth rash eruption caused by measles.

4. Schizonepeta can treat abnormal uterine bleeding, blood in the stool, nosebleeds and many other bleeding symptoms; depending on the bleeding site, corresponding hemostatic herbs can be combined and formulated.

5. Schizonepeta has a relatively mild nature, so it can be used for both wind-cold and wind-heat colds; this is a rather special characteristic among pungent, warm exterior-releasing herbs, and is also an important property.