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By Paul A. Thomas
University of Georgia
Agastache? Sounds like an ice cream flavor begging to be
taste-tested. Actually, it’s a flavor of garden perennial that’s
just as exciting.
How many plants have fragrant, pest-free foliage, bloom nonstop
from May until fall frost, attract butterflies and hummingbirds
like magnets, resist deer browsing, tolerate drought and come
back each year with vigor?
Too good to be true? Plant one of the Anise Hyssop hybrids of
Agastache. See for yourself the award-winning qualities of this
remarkable plant.
Anise Hyssop hybrids are long-lived herbaceous perennials that
require full sun and are well suited to hardiness zones 7 and 8.
Choices, Choices
So many of these new hybrids are outstanding that the Georgia
Plant Selections Committee couldn’t agree on just one for its
coveted Gold Medal Award. So the award went to four of the best:
“Apricot Sunrise,” “Firebird,” “Tutti Frutti” and “Blue Fortune.”
The native American species of Anise Hyssop, Agastache
foeniculum, has long been a prized perennial herb. Its
licorice-scented leaves are ground and used as seasoning on
meats, vegetables and salads. They’re also used in teas, perfume
and aromatherapy. Native American Indians used Anise Hyssop as a
breath freshener and in poultices for various ailments.
The Gold Medal selections are relatives of the native species.
But they were bred for their flowering qualities. They may lack
some of the herbal qualities of the natives.
Best fit
Each of the Anise Hyssop hybrids grows to different heights and
has different flower colors. You’ll need to decide which best
fits your landscape plan.
Apricot Sunrise is an erect, bushy
plant growing 18 inches tall. It bears tubular, orange-apricot
flowers, 1 to 1.5 inches long in its leaf axils.
Firebird grows 24 to 36 inches
tall and produces tubular, copper-orange flowers.
Tutti Frutti grows 36 to 48 inches
tall and has tubular, raspberry-rose-pink flowers.
Blue Fortune grows 36 to 40 inches
tall. Unlike the others, it produces an abundance of compressed
blue-purple, tubular flowers in a flower spike at its terminals.
All of these hybrids bloom continuously from May to October.
They’re all highly attractive to insects, hummingbirds and
butterflies. But their pungent foliage makes them undesirable to
deer.
How they grow
To get the most out of your choice, grow Agastache in full sun.
Well-drained soils are required.
Fall planting is best to allow winter rooting. Container-grown
plants, though, can be established successfully year-round.
Once established, the plants are exceptionally drought-tolerant.
Light pruning all season will promote branching and additional
blooms.
A slow-release fertilizer such as Osmocote, applied at planting
time and as a topdressing on established plants each year in
early spring, will provide ample nutrition for the season.
Wait until early spring to prune back established plants. Fall
and winter pruning may decrease its cold hardiness.
Anise Hyssop hybrids can be propagated from seed, cuttings or
root divisions. Seed is in short supply, so cuttings and root
divisions will be the easiest way to add to your collection.
(Paul Thomas is an Extension Service horticulturist with the
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.)
