Agastache: Giant Hyssop
The drought tolerant Agastache provides delightfully fragrant foliage and colorful spikes of blooms from summer to fall that delight hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and gardeners alike.
Plant care & info
Facts: Agastache
Family: Lamiaceae (Mint Family)
Genus: Agastache
Dry and often hilly areas in North America, China, and Japan.
Plant in full sun (at least 6 hours) with well-drained soil. Varieties from Mexico and the Southwest US need excellent drainage. If tender, plant in a protected place.
Dead-head old flowers for repeat blooming.
Attracts hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Fragrant foliage. Some parts are edible or used in tea. Drought tolerant. Deer resistant.
From seed or cuttings. Sow seeds in early spring when it is between 55-64 degrees. Semi-ripe cut affected by downy mildew and few other fungal leaf diseases.
Imagine you are peacefully enjoying the beauty of your garden, drinking some refreshing beverage and out of nowhere, a hummingbird buzzes right by your ear and stops to drink from an orange flower spike of an Agastache.
The iridescent green back and ruby throat of the hummingbird glitter for a fleeting moment, and then it is gone again, off to another nectar source. This nectar also attracts bees, butterflies and other helpful pollinators.
Planting Agastache, also called Giant hyssop or Mexican hyssop, brings this kind of summer excitement to the garden. Agastache is a great summer to fall bloomer that fits well in the herb garden, containers or perennial border.
Long spikes of whorled flowers that range in color from white, orange, pink, mauve, and purple are set against green to gray-green aromatic foliage.
Agastache love full sun with excellent drainage to prevent them from rotting out over our wet winters, and grow anywhere from 18 in. to 6 ft tall. Some species of Agastache, such as A. foeniculum (Anise hyssop), are also used in herbal medicines and teas. In addition to the various species, there are also many great cultivars and hybrids with a range of plant sizes and flower colors that would be great additions to any garden.
Explore More Giant Hyssop
'Licorice Candy'
Agastache ‘Licorice Candy’
This lovely Agastache was developed locally by Van Hevelingen Nursery in Newberg, Oregon. All proceeds of its sale go to benefit the research of Alzheimer’s research.
A stunning perennial reaching 3-4′ tall 24-36″ wide. Clear pink flowers from summer to fall. Delicious licorice scented foliage and edible flowers. Hardy to zone 6.
'Anise Hyssop'
Agastache Foeniculum: Anise Hyssop
Agastache from north-central North America grows 18 in. to 4 ft. tall and 2 ft. wide with lilac-blue flowers. The foliage is anise, or licorice scented and used to make tea.
This species is more tolerant of wet and cold winters than other species. It also blooms the first year when planted from seed and will reseed freely. Zones 8-10.
'Sangria'
Agastache Mexicana ‘Sangria’: Giant Mexican Lemon Hyssop
Masses of crimson pink flowers with lemon scented foliage used in tea or as a flavoring. Native to Mexico, it grows 3-4 ft. up to 5 ft. tall and 12 in. wide. Cultivars have flower colors such as salmon pink, rose pink, and orange from spring through fall. Zones 7-10.
'Wrinkled Giant Hyssop'
Agastache Rugosa: Korean Hummingbird Mint, Wrinkled Giant Hyssop
From China and Japan, this species of Agastache grows 4-5 ft. tall with branching stems that make it shrubbier than other species. The leaves are three inches long and sticky with flower spikes up to four inches long in pink or purplish-blue.
The foliage is licorice-scented and glossy-green with a purplish tinge. Zones 4-24.
'Sunset Hyssop'
Agastache Rupestris: Licorice Mint, Sunset Hyssop
Native to southern Arizona and northern Mexico, Agastache rupestris grows to 2 ½ ft tall and 18 in. wide. It has narrow fragrant gray-green leaves with spikes of orange flowers with lavender calyxes.
This is a great garden plant. Zones 1-24.
