blue Agastache seed

LATIN NAME: AGASTACHE FOENICULUM

COMMON NAME: Blue Giant Hyssop

The blue giant hyssop wands the upright, square stems with the soft, green, licorice-scented leaves and the tall, slender spikes of the small, tubular, violet-blue flowers that open through the summer, the blooms carried in the crowded whorls along the upper stem. The flowers draw the bees, the butterflies, and the hummingbirds from the first bloom, and the foliage keeps the cool, fresh scent. The plant grows into the tidy, clumping form, and it stands the heat and the dry spells well. It likes the sun, and the light, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

In the mint family, the agastaches have a recognised place in the studies of the aromatic herbs and the pollinator plants, and the blue giant hyssop appears in the research on the leaf oils and the heat tolerance. The chemists value the aromatic compounds in the licorice-scented foliage, while the ecologists note the whorled spikes that feed the bees and the hummingbirds. The seed biology fills out the picture, and the breeders of the long-blooming border plants keep the species in their programmes.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the sunny border, the blue giant hyssop blooms long and scents sweet. The violet-blue spikes feed the bees and the butterflies through the summer, the licorice-scented leaves have served the teas and the flavourings for the ages, and the plant gives the border the tall, airy bloom. It grows well in the light, well-drained, sunny ground. Bright, aromatic and generous.

To grow the Blue Giant Hyssop from seed,

Sprinkle the seeds over the light surface of the fine, sandy bed, then press them in gently, keep the bed moist, and the seedlings surface within a few weeks

Keep the surface gently damp, and thin the little plants when they are a finger tall. They take off fast in the warm, sunny weeks.

. Plant the young plants in the sunny, light ground, and the violet spikes will wand the border through the summer.