Plant guide
Garden nasturtium
Tropaeolum majus
Garden nasturtium is non-toxic to cats. Identify it by its scientific name; watercress is a different plant despite sometimes sharing the word nasturtium.
Non-toxic does not mean edible. Eating plant material can still upset your cat’s stomach.
What this guide covers: Tropaeolum majus only, not Nasturtium officinale (watercress). This is not advice to feed flowers or seeds to cats.
Photo:
Photo details
Tropaeolum majus — Flower close up
By Hope Duckworth
License: CC BY 4.0
Resized and converted to WebP for display; botanical details unchanged.
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Photo:
Photo details
Tropaeolum majus — Flower close up
By Hope Duckworth
License: CC BY 4.0
Resized and converted to WebP for display; botanical details unchanged.
Nasturtium seeds
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Non-toxic does not mean edible. Chewing plants can still upset your cat’s stomach.
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Look for Tropaeolum majus and check the selected variety. Listings and availability can change.
Plant identity
- Scientific name
- Tropaeolum majus
- Scope
- Species
- Family
- Not recorded
- Also known as
- No reviewed aliases available
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How to grow this plant
Tropaeolum majus only, not Nasturtium officinale (watercress). This is not advice to feed flowers or seeds to cats.
- Light
- Sunny position
Full sun, with afternoon shade in hot summers.
- Watering
Established plants tolerate some drought; use freely draining soil.
- Temperature
- Temperature range not yet established
A warm-weather annual; no preferred numerical range established.
- Humidity
No specific humidity target established.
- Potting
- Poor to average, well-drained soil.
- Through the year
- Avoid excessive fertilizer, which favors leaves over flowers. Monitor self-seeding.
Growing-guide sources
- Tropaeolum majus ↗NC State Extension · Accessed 2026-10-16
Tropaeolum majus only, not Nasturtium officinale (watercress). This is not advice to feed flowers or seeds to cats.
Growing advice reviewed 2026-10-16. Plant safety is assessed separately.
Reviewed safety information
- Toxic principle
- Not recorded in the reviewed evidence
- Reported signs
- Not recorded in the reviewed evidence
Missing information is unknown. It should not be interpreted as an absence of risk.
Safe alternatives
No verified alternative recommendations are available for this guide.
Sources & review
- Garden nasturtium: toxic and non-toxic plants ↗ASPCA · Accessed
Safety last reviewed .