Plant This: Agastache attracts hummingbirds & light
Two agastache cultivars are doing particularly well in my hillside sun garden. Agastache ‘Acapulco Salmon & Pink,’ pictured here, has tripled in size compared to last year, its first year in my garden.
The morning sun incandesces those tubular pinkish-orange flowers.
Although I need something more structural, with a larger leaf, to play against the agastache’s fine texture, I do like the color echo with the spent echinacea cones.
A longer view in the morning light reveals ‘Acapulco Salmon & Pink’s location in the upper left—where the gauzy light is made visible in a glowing mass.
Hummingbirds absolutely love this plant, making it a good choice for near the deck or patio, so you can enjoy their antics.
Farther up the hillside path, Agastache ‘Desert Sunrise’ displays dusty-pink flowers against the blue-green foliage of Artemesia ‘Powis Castle’, Arizona cypress ‘Blue Ice’, and Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’. (The skeletal structure is a faux garden house/pool-pump disguise that will remain skeletal until after my DH’s September Ironman. Patience, Pam.)
What a pretty plant, and tough too. Fragrant leaves keep deer away and are lovely to run your hands through.
Now I’m waiting for ‘Ava’, my biggest agastache, to bloom. Soon!
Where to get it: I don’t know how available Agastache is in local nurseries. Mine came (as part of a free prize package) from High Country Gardens. I believe it’s best planted in the spring, not the fall, unlike many of our native flowering perennials. Agastache requires good drainage and lots of sun, and it takes a couple of seasons to achieve its mature size.
Update: Agastache proved short-lived in my hot, humid zone 8b garden. It prefers a drier climate than Austin’s, and I no longer recommend it except as a novelty annual.
Note: My Plant This posts are written primarily for gardeners in central Texas. The plants I recommend are ones I’ve grown myself and have direct experience with. I wish I could provide more information about how these plants might perform in other parts of the country, but gardening knowledge is local. Consider checking your local online gardening forums to see if a particular plant might work in your region.
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Just lovely Pam…you’ve really captured the fleeting quality of the morning light! I agree with you whole-heartedly about Agastaches…they have quickly become one of my faves for the garden, I’m not sure what I ever did without them. I just ordered my first ones from High Country, ‘Desert Sunrise’, which are the tiniest little things right now, but I’m hopeful they will overwinter and be big and beautiful in the years to come. Recently, I’ve tried one of the new Terra Nova introductions, ‘Summer Sky’, and it’s awesome as well! It’s a little more compact, but the flower color is really intensely purple. Can’t wait to see your ‘Ava’…I really wanted one this year…but by the time I got around to ordering, they were out of stock 🙁
Scott
‘Ava’ was my hands-down favorite last year, Scott, but this year she seems a little slow to start. I suppose that’s because I moved a couple of my other agastaches to more sun (my garden is pretty shady), and now those are simply outgrowing ‘Ava.’ —Pam
I love the long views of your garden. It’s come a long way, in a short time. I’m hoping the same for mine.
Patience, is not one of my strong suits.
The agastache is beautiful.
Thanks, Linda. I plan to do a recap of before-and-after pics of the whole garden this fall, so you’ll see more long shots soon. —Pam
Oooh, that is a good plant for hummingbirds!
Very! —Pam
I love Agastache! I have some in my garden, I’m not sure if its Desert Sunrise, Salmon & Pink, or another cultivar, but it looks like yours. I have mine sitting next to some Autumn Joy Sedum, and while I hadn’t really consciously thought about it, I think your exactly right when you say it needs something with a larger leaf and more structural next to it. I think the 2 look great together.
There are a LOT of cultivars, Jen. I still have the labels stuck next to my various agastaches so I can remember which is which. I bet yours does look great with ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum’s fleshy leaves and big flower heads. Unfortunately, that is one plant that does not want to grow for me. —Pam
Pam, I’m growing the fine textured agastache and love it…and that second shot is a delight with the sun shining down~gail
So you’ve found a little sun for this sun-lover too? We eke it out where we can, don’t we, Gail? —Pam
Your garden looks lovely in the morning light Pam. I don’t think my drainage is good enough for the Agastache, but I wonder how it would do in a container.
It wants to grow very deep roots, Jayne, so just make sure your container is quite tall. —Pam
Hi Pam.
My Agastache, (also from the High Country Gardens) has been one of the best performing plants in the Patch this year…very impressive! Duration of bloom? bee attractant?…you name it, it delivers, definitely requires more visibility and availability in the local Austin nurseries. A strong plant with longevity…does it get any better?
ESP.
I do wonder why agastache isn’t readily available in area nurseries. I suspect it’s related to the growing conditions. Remember those tall, skinny pots it arrived in from High Country Gardens, to provide adequate root-growing room? Larger plants would presumably need more than a typical one-gallon nursery pot to look good, don’t you think? —Pam
I have these as well. Salmon and Pink looks fantastic in front of Russian Sage. I have yet to see a good performance from Ava as I sited her poorly. I’m not giving up yet!
Ooh, I bet that combo does look good. Thanks for the suggestion, Susan. —Pam
Great post, beautiful pictures.
I recently planted Agastache ‘Apricot Sunrise’ in my San Antonio garden. I found it at the local big box home improvement center so they are available locally. Even though most Agastache info says “full sun” it was tagged for “morning sun only” so I planted it on the northeast side of the yard in deer country. We love the scent, but I think the deer are avoiding it so far.
Your pictures show what I have to look forward to in a couple of years.
I’m so glad to have found this blog and I’ll be looking through the archives to get caught up.
Hi, S. It seems strange that your agastache was labeled as a morning-sun plant, when everything I’ve read about them and my own experience tells me that the more sun the better. Still, it sounds like it’s growing well for you. Don’t you love finding a beautiful flowering plant that the deer don’t enjoy? —Pam
Ha, I too, am trying to be patient, in this case with my ‘Ava’ agastache. It’s blooming, but pretty sparsely. I know I’m supposed to give it a few years, so I’ll keep trying the patience thing.
Yes, we have to be patient with our agastache, although I was pleased with the flowering I got from ‘Ava’ in its first season last year. It’s slow to get going this year, but I have high hopes for a good late-summer, early fall showing. —Pam
Pam,
Thanks so much for all of the information. I am looking for a group of plants to place next to the back fence in my back yard. It is terribly hot there this summer, over 100 most days and everything besides the Pride of Barbados is just withering. I have opted for some hyssop. My yard is an aviary with no less than ten birds of different kinds at any one time all day. I would love to attract some hummingbirds but have had little luck.
I am in the process of building a waterfall and pond (30′ X 20′) in one corner where no grass grows. The balance of the yard is so shady with fully mature Texas Ash trees in the front and back yard. I hope to see more of your pictures soon. Possibly we could share some. I live in Round Rock, so if you ever want to share some plants with someone just starting out I have some to share/trade. Thanks again, your garden is lovely. Jay