Full the full effect
This plant stinks dogs and cats tremendously
Updated on April 7th, 2025 – 7:30 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Many garden fans are not very enthusiastic when strangers stray through the garden beds. The problem can be easily solved with a plant.
Visually, the plant with the vulgar name is quite inconspicuous: it becomes between 40 and 60 centimeters in size, has fleshy, slightly hairy leaves and drives out about three centimeters long, purple lip blossoms from May to June.
But the piss-dich plant (Coleus Canina or Plectranthus Caninus) has it all. Almost odorless for humans, it exudes fragrances that are extremely uncomfortable for dogs, cats, cats and even martens and rabbits. The menthol aroma climbs into their sensitive noses to the uninvited garden visitors and reliably keeps them at a distance several meters. The essential oils separate the plant over its nettles. People can only perceive the smell if they rub the leaves between their fingers.
The piss-dich plant is non-toxic and therefore also in the family garden to plant it without hesitation. Even the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) recommends the piss-dich plant as a natural and safe protection against unwanted four-legged friends. However, garden pests such as snails, caterpillars or aphids cannot be deterred by their strict fragrance.
Incidentally, the piss-dich plant only got its coarse names over time. Her creator, the gardener Dieter Stegmeier, launched the intersection in 2001 as an anti-dog plant and was therefore successful. In the meantime, it is offered almost everywhere as a piss-dich plant.
In order for it to thrive well, it needs the sun as possible. If necessary, it can also cope with partial shade. Because it is not hardy, you shouldn’t put the piss-dich plant outside in front of the ice saints. It is therefore easiest to leave the piss-dich plant in the pot or bucket. This makes it easier to protect in the cold. If you have planted it in the bed, you should protect the plant in cold nights with temperatures below 15 degrees – for example by packing it into fleece.
The plant thrives best on humus, nutrient -rich soils. In addition, it should not be kept too damp, but rather dry.
The Coleus Canina is a one -year -old plant. Your ideal planting time is between April and July. It is important that you put the plant in the bed for around ten centimeters deep into the earth when planting. As a result, new shoots form faster.
The piss-dich plant only unfolds its full effect when it has reached a certain size and trains its nettles. In order to protect the garden bed in the best possible way, several piss-dich plants should be planted at a distance of no more than one meter.
