Mexican hyssop
A new plant (to me) appeared this summer in local plant sales: Mexican hyssop.
Agastache mexicana belongs to a large, widespread genus, with species native to a variety of habitats, predominately in dry hilly areas of the Southwestern U.S., Mexico, Japan, and China.
There are already lots of selections, but I'm quite keen on the one that I obtained from a vendor at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville and the similar one that we had at our Garden plant sale this fall.
I thought I had a image of it sprawling out of the oak-half barrel, but apparently only kept this one, of a overnighting carpenter bee on a flower.
Bees and hummingbirds favor its large, nectar-rich flowers -- and, it has a long flowering time, so there's not much NOT to like about that.
Agastache mexicana belongs to a large, widespread genus, with species native to a variety of habitats, predominately in dry hilly areas of the Southwestern U.S., Mexico, Japan, and China.
There are already lots of selections, but I'm quite keen on the one that I obtained from a vendor at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville and the similar one that we had at our Garden plant sale this fall.I thought I had a image of it sprawling out of the oak-half barrel, but apparently only kept this one, of a overnighting carpenter bee on a flower.
Bees and hummingbirds favor its large, nectar-rich flowers -- and, it has a long flowering time, so there's not much NOT to like about that.
Looks like a good one to keep in mind.
ReplyDeleteI love this plant...a lot. It does struggle in my clay soil...but that didn't keep me from getting another plant to try once more! gail
ReplyDeleteIt's such a great plant that I had already sung its praises in a previous post this season, and obviously had forgot about it!
ReplyDeleteThe plant in the oak half-barrel is doing much better than the one in the perennial border, so definitely 'good drainage' is in order -- our heavy clay soil, whether acid or alkaline, isn't its preference, to be sure.
Lisa
I love hyssops and just recently discovered them myself. Have been trying to find varieties hardy here in Z4/5 (NY). This one is beautiful.
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