Re: Agastache

In a message dated 5/28/02 8:35:16 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
genebush@otherside.com writes:

<<     Anyone out there with practical experience growing this one in their
 gardens? Other species or cultivars? Hopefully zone 6 or colder on
 experience. >>

Hi Gene,

I have Agastache rupestris which on it's second year is a wonderful minty 
aromatic with non stop flowers.  It starts pretty late here so for you, it 
should last for months.

It was on the list of plants lifted and stuck in cold frames until I tired of 
that routine and left it outdoors and it has made it here about the third 
year now.  A.rupestris is a western plant which we all were trying in out 
long three year drought.  It needs, for me, the second year to really look 
good, requires full sun and sharp drainage.

I also have and lose if not put in a frame A. aurantiaca which is also a 
non-stop bloomer in a dry place.  There are hybrids of this which are sold an 
annuals here.  They take all summer to reach blooming stage for us and are 
also minty as soon as you brush by them.  This makes it easy to ID the 
seedlings.  They mostly do not live over.  While departing each winter, this 
is beautiful plant making a haze of orangy/pink bloom for months.  
Hummingbirds are always in these plants.

I once grew a tall blue one and it grew very large and vigorous. The flowers 
were so small one could hardly find them in the foliage.  My garden friend in 
experimentation with these plants decided we had some kind of weed.  I 
mention this as some people rave about the blue Agastache. Maybe we had a bad 
species.

We would never have grown any of then had it  not stopped raining here for 
more than three years.  That is when we learned a lot about these western 
plants.  Check to see if winter dry - summer wet is needed and you know how 
to place. Some use sand with the better soil a foot below the sand.

A. rupestris stays in place for us and is growing in a rock wall.

Claire Peplowski
NYS z4

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