Favourite agastaches?

I'm starting to gather a few agastaches as I love them so much and would love to hear which are your favourites and the ones that grow best for you?
I have Apricot Sprite, which I love and Black Licquorice, which has yet to get going. Several packets of seed as yet unsown.....

'Summer Breeze' and 'Ava'

I just got 'Ava' this year and it's gorgeous! I bought it too late to get it planted in the garden before summer hit, but it's blooming its little heart out in its tiny pot! Apricot Sprite was my old favorite before that.

Agastache Cana 'Heather Queen'. Got one at the end of summer last year- lovely dusky-rose colored blooms and, of course, smells ridiculously good. It made it through winter here in zone 6a too !

Trying Agastache x Rupestris and Agastache Mearnsii this year. Both starting to bloom now.

Agastache 'Blue Fortune'. Seems to be more tolerant of wet soil than some of the other agastaches. Long blooming, very attractive to butterflies, bees and birds. Great licorice scent. I'll cut it back at the end of the month, and it will rebloom until frost.

Tutti-Frutti is standing tall and looking real good right now...hard to choose. I love all the tall ones. It will be interesting to see if I get any crosses this year. I like them all, so I'll just let them do whatever they want to do.

Thanks very much to all of you for your thoughts. I think it's going to be a question of planting and sowing the ones I can find here. You've given me a number of names to look out for :)

Apricot Sprite struggled with the hard winter, but has survived and is flowering
I'm going to delve into my seed packets and get going with those as well. I think a number are tall ones.....

Ooops the other one is not Black Licquorice, but Black Adder. Does anyone else have that?

WC, I looked all over for Tutti Frutti when I read that it's one of the hummers' favorites... couldn't find any. Do you find that the hummingbirds like it more than other agastaches?

Aaaaah if only I had hummingbirds.....

Philomel... I went to a hummingbird festival and came home inspired. Had the shrubs taken out of my front yard outside my two guest room windows, tilled the soil and started planting... tons of salvia, bee balm, columbine, etc. The hummingbirds and butterflies love it.

I really think the hummingbirds like the feeders the most. We have three feeders hanging within 15' of each other and it sounds like a fighter squadron outside. You can't believe how much noise those little birds make. We've counted as many as 15 hummingbirds zipping around at one time.

Yes, they are so fun to watch. I was cleaning feeders Saturday and one came to the deck window and he'd fly to where there was supposed to be a feeder then fly out a few feet and look in the deck window as if to say "can you put a move on in there lady. I'm hungry."

I LOVE lots of Agastaches! I just GOTTA have them! ;-)

Tutti Frutti
Desert Sunrise
Cana
rupestris
Red Fortune
Hot To Trot
Ava
Pink Panther
Rosita
Heather Queen
Acapulco Salmon and Pink
Shades of Orange
Firebird
Apricot Sunrise
Apache Sunset
Coronado
Orange Flare
Black Adder
Purple Haze
Blue Fortune
Golden Jubilee
Color Spires Pink
Color Spires Blue
Sinning Sonoran Sunset
I have a few others I just planted this year and can't remember the names ;-)

Always on the lookout for more different varieties!

Marilyn





This message was edited Jul 10, 2007 5:37 PM

I know, they're pretty demanding. The hummers (we call them crack babies) are very territorial. They give me a lot of grief when I'm out in the yard weeding, "Get out of our yard!" They drain the sugar water. We have to refill the feeders at least every other day. I'm starting to feel like a witch- seems like I always have a cauldron of boiling water on the stove!

I've seen hummingbirds in the West Indies and Belize, but of course we don't have them in europe :(
I was really struck by how territorial they are and the males always busy busy busy defending their patch. I can hear the wing clapping and see the darting bodies as I write. Magic. You're so lucky to have them.
Do you call them crack babies because of the sound they make borders?

That's some list Marilynbeth! Thanks for all those names. I see you have Black Adder. Mine's just coming into flower despite being just a tiny baby at the moment. I'm going to keep a look out here and see how many more I can find. At least we have humming bird hawk moths.........

Judy, I don't know which of the agastaches might be their favorites.....I'm so busy I've never given it thought. We're on 1 1/2 acres and plants spread out everywhere so I'd have to stop and 'do a study' to see. I plant and assume the hummers will like them all!!

philomel, how sad there are no hummers in Europe...but on the other hand I'm sure you have birds that we don't...I would love to have storks on my roof....do you have that in France or am I thinking of more northerly countries?

We don't have storks on the rooves here gypsy, but they've built special towers for them at a nature reserve a couple hours away from me and I've seen them there.
I think some still nest on rooves further north and east.

Here's a link I found that lists alot of Agastaches (don't think they sell) that you might be interested in looking at.

http://www.raretrees.org/agas22.html

Besides getting Agastaches from High Country Gardens
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/
and Lazy S's Farm Nursery http://www.lazyssfarm.com/index.html
I bought some Agastaches from Garden Crossings
http://www.gardencrossings.com/ for the first time this year.

I haven't ordered from them yet, but Canyon Creek Nursery has them
http://www.canyoncreeknursery.com/homepage.html

I plan to place an order with Canyon Creek next year for Agastaches and Salvias, my other passion! ;-)

I'm always on the lookout for Agastaches and Salvias locally! ;-)

Marilyn

I think Bluestone usually sells them too, they're done shipping for the summer but they'll be back in the fall.

I need serious help people. I came into the salvia category here and immediately had to have salvia. I already had coral nymph and thought it the most beautiful thing I had ever seen but did not know much about salvia. So I go to looking and there are so many beautiful ones to choose from. I am doing the butterfly/hummingbird garden so these are perfect. So I go and order three online, one I know was TuttiFrutti, one was something like Texas Hummingbird mint and I am not sure of the other one. Then I remember seeing such a plant at Lowe's the other day and thinking it was a cool plant but I did not really need it. So I order the plants online and what do I have to do, I have to go get the one from Lowe's anyway. I am sick I tell ya. Anyways, just have to say that plant smells so great I could not believe it. Not quite sure what the smell is but it is good. So right now I would have to say TuttiFrutti is my fave Agastachia, as for the salvia, I would have to say the black and blue which I also picked up at Lowe's today even though I had one already. Help me. Do they have flower addicts anonymous????

Lost,

LOL!

I'm already in the Agastaches/Salvias addicts anonymous! I can't get enough of them! I gotta have them and then I'll make the space for them! ;-) LOL

I've been doing the Hummingbirds/Butterflies gardening for the past several years and it's very rewarding to me! ;-)

I gotta check the local Lowe's here this week for Tutti Frutti! I've been waiting all season for them to have it, like they usually do each Summer.

you're partner in "crime",

Marilyn

Here's my photo of Agastache 'Purple Haze' that I took yesterday.

Lost-

I will have to join you at flower addicts anonymous. I also got Tutti Frutti @ Lowe's, I've had it a few weeks and it's doing great.

A week or so ago we had 40 mph winds in front of a thunderstorm. I had sticks and branches flying everywhere. I have about 6 different kinds of agastache in yard and while I was running around trying to get the dogs up before the rain hit, the entire yard smelled of licorice. I was afraid too many of my plants had been smashed to have such a pungent smell, but it wasn't too bad.

Borders,

I hope we get Tutti Frutti at our Lowe's this week. I hope our's didn't get forgotten about getting the shipment of TF. :-(

Here's a pic I took yesterday of a bunch of HCG Agastaches.

'Ava'
'Desert Sunrise'
'Orange Flare'
'Shades of Orange'
cana
'Rosita'
'Acapulco Salmon and Pink'
rupestris
'Black Adder'

There is Salvia 'Victoria Blue' in the front'

Another shot ....

Another pic from a little far away

On the other side of the flower bed I started planting more Agastaches. ;-)

I planted 'Red Fortune', 'Apricot Sunrise' and Tutti Frutti' (I got a small one thru mail order). Want to become 'Hummingbird Central'! ;-)

Marilyn

I don't go to Lowe's very often but guess I'll have to start checking. The few times I've looked there, I've not found anything exciting. daisyavenue on the California forum nailed it...we're people with obsessive compulsive plant disorders. I've already quoted her several times because it's so right!
Sherry

Thank goodness Marilyn. I am so glad I am not alone here. Although I think there are worse things we could be addicted to, huh? The sad thing is since I am just starting out I have so many I want to buy. I am just thrilled with this forum for educating me on flowers I never knew about and are so wonderful. I am just going to have to stay out of the other forums and stick with the ones I already have plants of or else I am going to have to file bankruptcy.

Anyway so we have three so far in our group. I am sure there are many more out there that just cannot admit it yet, but they will. As for Lowe's Tutti Frutti was the only one I saw there and it came in a big pot and one in a little pot. I of course had to go for the big pot as the smell attracted me to that one first and then I kept sniffing the one in the little pot and did not smell anything. I looked pretty weard there sniffing the leaves of plants instead of the flowers. Lol.

Leslie

Leslie,

I agree Marilyn. When I saw them it looked like nobody cared about them or was buying them. Of course I have to admit I passed them up several times until I read about them on here. Dave's is sure good for garden center business.

Leslie

I have agastache blue fortune and i love it. If you want to attract lots of honeybees and other beneficial insects to your garden this is the plant. Every time I look at it there are bees or butterflies hovering around it. I also love the licorice scent of the leaves. I like to pick one and crinkle it and ask people who come over to guess the smell. They always like it. I got mine from Niche gardens this spring and it's doing very well. In the pic it is the one on the right. There is a buddleia on the left. Hope you enjoy your new agastaches.
Leah

I just bought rupestris two days ago, the received tutti fruiti and black adder ups today. Can't wait to see them all mature!
BTW, got the last two from Santa Rosa Gardens! They are huge...certainly ready to go right into the garden! Recommended! Anyone else tried them?
Bev

Bev,

Yes, I tried them and am growing the three you mentioned. I have other
Agastaches too. I love them! I'm addicted to them, I just gotta have them! Wonderful flowers and plant! ;-)

Marilyn

This message was edited Jul 25, 2007 11:34 PM

Thanks! Good to know! I have bunches of the plain blue and the white ones that have seeded all over thanks to the goldfinches! I leave some, pull some up love them, though!

Bev,

Make sure you don't cut back any of the branches/stems until you see new growth in the Spring (every Spring). And, make sure you don't have any (possible) late freeze in the Spring when you do. The stems are hollow and if water (and/or freeze) gets into the stems, the plant will not survive.

Marilyn

Thanks for the info, Marilyn!
I do the same for some of my more tender salvias...You should have been within earshot when the DH did me a favor in early spring and cut down some of the 'dead stuff' in the garden with his mower:-( I got lucky despite the late freeze, but he's been warned!
Bev

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been answering on here, I'm just back from a trip to Italy.
Really appreciate all your comments and favourites suggestions - and especially the lovely photos Marilyn. they've given me fresh inspiration to carry on hunting down all the agastaches I can!!