Re: Edible flowers ?& Agastache
- To: M*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: Edible flowers ?& Agastache
- From: "* F* D* <s*@nr.infi.net>
- Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 11:28:11 -0500 (EST)
At 10:20 AM 10/23/1998 -0700, you wrote:
>I'm not sure if they still carry them, but several years ago, I got
>Agastache mexicana "Champagne" from Thompson and Morgan, which is
>white flowered and flushed with pink, a form of Agastache mexicana
>which is fully licorice-scented from Nichols Garden Nursery in Oregon
>(1190 N. Pacific Highway, Albany, OR 97321-4598)and Agastache mexicana
>"Carlyle Carmine" (carmine-colored flowers) from the Flowery Branch
>Seed Company (P.0. Box 1330, Flowery Branch, GA 30542).
>
>Unlike other specimens of A. mexicana, these seem to resist dying off
>spontaneously from some unknown cause, and routinely overwintered in
>zone 5. The lemon-scented A. mexicana is to me one of the best lemon
>scents in plants, and the hybrids from Seedhunt are truly wonderful,
>many of them are healthy and overwinter, so I absolutely have to grow
>these. But I've yet to find what all to do right so that they are all
>more reliable in my care.
>
>Great Gardening to All,
>
>Robert Carl // Mint Family Collector
Robert:
A. mexicana is the most subtropical of the Agastaches, handling the
subtropical heat and humidity of North Carolina best. The others from the
American southwest and northern Mexico mountains are adapted to moderate
cold and dry spells.
While most of my hybrids don't do well for me, they thrive along the eastern
downslope of the Rockies. I can thank Panayoti Kelaidis for getting them
started in Denver, and they have spread up and down that corridor. They are
also gaining in popularity in the northeast, thanks to Logee's, North Creek
Nurseries, and Sunnyborders. Of course, they are doing well in California.
They should do well in the zone 5 - 7 areas of the interior parts of the US
Ginny Hunt's hybrids haven't done well for me, not overwintering at all.
Ditto with "Champagne" (this may be based on `Toronjil Blanco' from Bob Bye,
via Jim Bauml; I would like to know its provenance).
I think the Agastaches do best in well-drained, lean soils, with a little
Osmocote added. In rich garden soils, they will be lush, short-lived plants.
Rich Dufresne
