Western Agastaches
- Subject: Western Agastaches
- From: E*@aol.com
- Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2002 00:05:22 EDT
In a message dated 8/9/02 4:14:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
mmorgan@wcgnet.net writes:
<< I hope very, very much that they return. They made such a great show in
one
season, that I would consider doing them as annuals. I am deeply impressed
that you are growing them in zone 4. Do you do anything else to protect
them? I have had trouble wintering A. rupestris, but it has been in a
different part of my garde >>
I have not trouble keeping over cana and rupestris because they are growing
in a gravel bank. Our driveway is steep and has been resurfaced with
truckloads of gravel over the years. The gravel gets pushed aside by plows
and general driveway use so the sides grow all kinds of things that are new
to me. A great many plants will grow in gravel and more will seed there.
Most of this stuff came during drought years whilst looking for plants that
would grow without water. I throw around some lime as the western plants all
seem to be lime lovers. The grow best in very free draining soil but are
late to start blooming here. If I put them in a cold frame or pot in cellar,
it speeds it up a bit. They are rated for colder zones in the West but that
zoning does not apply to the Northeast.
A. cana has a good picture on our own Hort-net. This plant becomes huge kept
in a pot and blooms non-stop. It is attractive and not like any other
perennial we grow. The color when described as bubblegum is pretty accurate.
A. rupestris is usually sold now as 'Desert Sunrise' and is similar.
A. aurantiaca is least hardy and I can lose this plant if it rains a lot or
if it is shaded by other plants. It requires free draining soil but need to
be watered once in a once, all dry won't do. The hybrids of this plant are so
stunning if well grown. One year, a few back, the summer it rained every
day, the plant was a miserable small mite you would not repurchase. Now I put
them in a trough type container and keep them over in the huge collection of
pots going to the cellar each year. These aurantiaca hybrids are
fascinating, minty fragrant, full of hummingbirds and bloom non-stop until
frost. I sometimes keep it over the winter, sometimes not so I leave it in
the container and I am sure. There are a lot of Western plants for gardeners
there that are not much talked about. Agastaches are usually written about
as being grown the same as lavenders. High Country Gardens has a good
catalog, online I think, with a lot of these plants.
I should add that being on mountainside, our house has a drive-in cellar so
putting all the pots away is not too awful. They can be driven right into
the cellar on the truck. I asked a rocks member once how many pots he stored
as he was complaining and when he said around 250, I decided that ours are
not that much trouble, yet.
Claire Peplowski
NYS z4
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