Agastache hybrida 'Arizona Sandstone'

The Arizona Agastache Collection has been specially bred for their compact habit, extensive flowering time and strong heat tolerance. In three fabulous colours, the plants are floriferous and will bloom in their first year. Extremely useful in containers or tubs, or integrated into the perennial border.
'Arizona Sandstone' produces delicate orange flowers. The elegant spires and delicate foliage create a haze of colour all summer and into autumn.

Agastache look fantastic in dry beds, cottage gardens, rock gardens and containers and is an essential specimen for any pollinator-friendly garden since it is attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. They fit well into scented gardens, perennial borders and even herb gardens. Agastache have fragrant leaves that smell like a blend of aniseed and lemon - they are even edible and can be used in salads or teas. The foliage is wonderful planted along paths where you can brush up against them, or you could pick a sprig or two and bring indoors to enjoy in a vase. The flowers are also edible, and will colour a salad beautifully.

Easy to grow and tolerant of poor soils, so long as they are well drained, Agastache are ideal for providing long lasting colour as a dry garden plant. You can grow Agastache in containers, you will just need to water them more regularly.
As an added bonus, the blooms act like magnets to bees and butterflies. There are plenty of flower spikes and they last for months. Dead head the flowers regularly during the season to encourage more blooms. It is a good idea to cut Agastache plants back hard in winter to maintain a healthy bush.

Sowing: Sow February to March or April to June.
Sow early in February to March under glass to flower July to October, or sow April to June to flower the following year. Seed can also be sown directly in the ground in spring.
Sow under cover; sow in warmth to germinate; prick out and harden off in late spring. Or sow direct in autumn when soil is warm. Protect seedlings throughout winter. Likes rich moist soil and full sun.
Sow the seeds into cells or pots containing good quality seed compost. Sow finely onto the surface and press lightly into the compost, but do not cover, as light aids germination of seeds. Place in a propagator or cover with a plastic lid and place in a warm place, ideally at 18 to 20°C (65 to 68°F).
Water from the base of the tray, keeping the compost moist but not wet at all times. Germination 14 to 28 days. Once some of the seeds have germinated air should be admitted gradually otherwise the seedlings may suffer damping off.

Transplanting:
Once the seedlings have their first pair of true leaves (they come after the seedlings first pair of leaves) and are large enough to handle, Prick out each seedling into 7.5cm (3in) pots to grow on. Gradually acclimatise to outdoor conditions for 10 to 15 days before planting out after all risk of frost has passed into well drained soil. Plant 30cm (12in) apart.
To prepare ordinary garden soil for planting, add 5cm (2in) of gravel and 10cm (4in) of compost. Mix in well down to 30cm (12in). Allow soil to dry thoroughly between each watering. Dress plants with gravel to keep water away from crown to prevent rot.
Pinching is not necessary, but has been shown to increase the spread of the crop and will result in more flower spikes flowering simultaneously. Pinching during the young plant stage will only delay flowering by about a week. Crops that are not pinched will still develop numerous axillary inflorescences but the main inflorescence will begin to flower several days before the axillary inflorescences begin to flower.

Cultivation:
Agastache prefers free-draining soil but tolerates almost any soil and will cope with dry, poor soils very well. They can be grown in full sun but will take some shade if dry. As is typical of many aromatic perennial herbs, a 'tough love' approach works best—full sun and not too much water or fertil­iser. In fact, most plants will need little, if any, supplemental irrigation. In dry climates, a deep soaking every week or two during the summer growing season is adequate.
The sturdy plants will usually not need staking, but you may need to do so if planted in rich moist soils or in exposed positions. Although agastache already boasts a very long flowering period, usually until frost, the plants will be stronger and more floriferous if you cut back flower stalks as flowers fade.

Agastache are short-lived perennials, often grown as an annual in cooler climates and as a perennial in warmer climates. Don’t worry too much if your plant keels over after three or four years, you haven’t done anything wrong. They will self-seed where happiest, but this is usually never enough so collect the seed to ensure that you will never be without.
Remember that when different Agastache species and hybrids are planted in the same garden, they will cross-pollinate. Watch for volunteer seed­lings, and weed out individual plants that don’t demonstrate desirable habit and flower colour.
A few Agastache species are not reliably hardy, especially in wet winters Take care when mulching especially in wetter climates. In these areas, it is best to avoid mulching materials like composted leaves, lawn clip­­pings, and bark chips since they can encourage the growth of fungal and bacterial pathogens. Pine needles are a better choice, but a few inches of crushed-gravel mulch is ideal.

Plant Uses:
Cottage/Informal Garden, Flower Arranging, Containers, Borders and Beds.
For cut flowers, harvest when a third to half of the florets have opened.

Culinary Uses:
We do only just seem to be waking up to the herbal essences of Agastache. There are, however, around a dozen different species, some of which earn their place in the herb garden better than others. All have deliciously, spicily scented leaves as well as those lovely smoky blue or purple flowers.
Take one or two and chew them and you’ll freshen your breath with its clean, savory flavour.
Pick young growth and sprinkle in salads, use to decorate cakes or float in drinks. Agastache added to your Pimms lifts it to a higher sphere altogether, or make a tea, the mintier ones, like A. rugosa, often have a better flavour, the crushed leaves smell strongly of mint or aniseed and are often likened to liquorice.
You can dry the leaves for potpourri and also flavour meat, specifically pork, with a uniquely piquant tang, either aniseedy or minty depending on the species you choose.

Seed Collecting:
If you plan to collect seeds, be aware of cross-pollinating; do not place different agastache plants close together.
At the end of the season, each flower will produce four oval-shaped nutlets containing dark, tiny seeds. Allow them to dry on the stem, collect in paper bags, remember to label and sow in spring or in autumn.

Origin:
The genus Agastache has about 3,500 species worldwide, many of them ornamental and economically important for their essential oils.
There are many different species of agastache that are native to North America, as well as one species that is native to Eastern Asia.
The new Arizona series features three hybrid varieties (Sun, Sunset and Sandstone) derived from species native to North America that are well adapted to the mountainous and arid climates of the Western United States.

Nomenclature:
The genus name is related to the flower clusters. Agastache, from the words agan, meaning ‘very much’ (or ‘many’) and stachys, ‘an ear of corn or wheat’ referring to the shape of the flower spikes, so meaning ‘having many spikes’.
The species name hybrida indicates this is a hybrid between multiple species.
Members of the genus Agastache are often called 'hyssops', but this name is a poor choice because these plants have little in common with the true hyssop (Hyssopus officianalis), which is a Mediterranean herb with both ornamental and medicinal value.
The plant has a number of common names, many of which include the name 'hyssop'. Often referred to as the 'Sunset Hyssop' in reference to the resemblance of the flower colours to the hues of a sunset.