Agastache mexicana
| Agastache mexicana | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Agastache mexicana (common name: mexican giant hyssop)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 13°c[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first year. Plant out in late spring or early summer[K].
Division in spring. Fairly simple, if large divisions are used it is possible to plant them straight out into their permanent positions.
Basal cuttings of young shoots in spring[2]. Harvest the young shoots when they are about 10 - 15cm tall and pot them up in a lightly shaded position in a greenhouse. They should root within 3 weeks and can be planted out in the summer or following spring.
Cultivation: Prefers a warm sunny sheltered position and a well-drained soil. Succeeds in most soils.
Although given a hardiness rating of 9 in [3] (which means that a plant is not very frost-tolerant), this species is thriving in a sunny bed at Kew Botanical Gardens and so should be hardy to at least zone 7[K]. Another report says that it withstands temperatures down to about -40°c when dormant. Yet another report says that it should succeed outdoors in the milder and drier counties, but that it is not very long-lived[4].
The flowers are very attractive to bees.
Range: Southern N. America - Mexico.
Edibility: The highly aromatic young leaves are used as a flavouring in salads and cooked foods[5].
The young leaves are used to make a herbal tea[5].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan, 1987.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.