Since spring is here, lots of homeowners will be thinking about what flowers to plant around their homes. Some go for pretty, bright annuals while others go for perennials that come up every year. There are other homeowners that prefer wildflowers for their borders or just to be there.
Anise hyssop flowers resemble the wildflowers found on the plains and sometimes beside highways. They’re a favored place for bees to stop by for a drop or two of nectar, a pretty place made even prettier by butterflies and birds, and even rabbits love to nibble at their foliage. Are there different types of anise hyssop flowers?
What are their characteristics?
Related: Famous Types of Flowers | Types of Flowers by Color | Types of Flowers by Alphabet
1. Anise Hyssop Or Agastache “Blue Boa”
Agastache foeniculum is a bushy, tall plant from the mint family. The leaves have a licorice (anise) scent used in tea, jellies, and salad greens. Even the flowers are edible.
The herbal plant has been used medicinally since ancient times by the Native Americans. The plant is frequently harvested for drying and used as potpourri and as herbal remedies. The right time to harvest the plants is just after the flowers have hit full bloom.
This is when the essential oils in the plant are at their most potent. The plants are like magnets, drawing hummingbirds as well as other types of birds, bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and even rabbits to their irresistibleness. Deer, though, aren’t as captivated with anise hyssop leaves as the others.
Anise hyssop “blue boa” characteristics are:
- being a perennial. Its seeds self-propagate along with being pollinated by bees and birds
- it grows well in partial shade to the full sun
- the plant grows in both moist and dry conditions, tolerating drought as well as wet soils if the drainage is good
- the plant grows well in growing zones four and nine. Although it performs at its best in the arid regions and in the plains or forested areas of the Midwest and Canada, it grows just as well in other parts of the country depending on the dryness and moisture
- blue boa grows two-three feet tall and spreads one to two feet wide.
The blooming season is from early summer to late fall. The blooms are a beautiful blue-purple that closely resembles the lavender plant. Curiously, the blooms have no scent; it’s the foliage with the wonderful aroma.
I, personally, love wildflowers, and I love any shade of purple, so this plant would definitely be in my yard (if I had one!)
2. Giant Hyssop Or Agastache “Blue Fortune”
Found mostly in the Eastern U.S. From Maine to Georgia, the giant hyssop or “blue fortune” offers essential oils used in aromatherapies and as herbal medicines. The roots were once used as an infusion for a diuretic.
Flavonoids, too, are on offer from this pretty plant. Goldfinches and hummingbirds and bees of all types can be found enjoying giant hyssop nectars. Anything that pollinates, like butterflies, is attracted to giant hyssop “blue fortune.”
Giant hyssop is similar to the “blue boa” type of hyssop as far as looks go. However, the leaves are somewhat furry and pointed, heart-shaped, and white on the undersides. These plants, though, offer scent from both leaves and flowers which are fuzzy and lavender-blue.
Giant hyssop “blue fortune” characteristics are:
- being a perennial. Its seeds can be planted, plants divided and replanted, or pollinated by birds and bees
- prefer dappled to full shade
- this plant grows best in the ground that’s been disturbed. Since it grows best in forested areas or open fields, it can’t take competition and must be re-established in disturbed soil
- that can’t handle hot, dry weather. This plant must have water with good drainage
- performs well in any area except dry zone nine. Best suited to forested areas and open fields
- it grows up to six feet tall which makes it an excellent plant for fences. The flowers are one to six inches, but they don’t all bloom at the same time.
This plant’s prime time is in the fall with its blooms blooming all winter. This is a pretty plant, but it’s better suited to wooded areas and fenced open fields.
3. Giant Hyssop Or Agastache “Black Adder”
If Agastache rugosum and Agastache foeniculum had a baby, it would be Agastache “black adder.” A hybrid plant, rugosa is also known as Korean mint and is grown in East Asia. Combined with Agastache foeniculum, it produces a stunning hardy plant that draws the usual birds and the bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Many homeowners establish “cottage gardens,” butterfly gardens, and gardens specifically for bees to use for pollination. Borders around lawns, patios, and walkways, and stone paths look wonderful side by side with these plants. “Black adder” characteristics are:
- perennial
- prefers full sun
- does better in USDA zone six to nine. If deep winter is difficult, the plant should be protected in southern areas
- that tolerate well the heat as well as some dry, sandy soils
- grow up to three feet tall with a two-foot spread
Black adder is a hybrid featuring a black base from which reddish-purple blooms grow. The leaves are blueish-green and have a trademark anise aroma. It blooms from summer to late fall, and winter doesn’t bother it.
It’s a stunning plant.
4. Agastache Bolero Or Hummingbird Mint
This is a low-lying plant with a sort of bronze-green leaves and a rosy purple bloom. They draw hummingbirds like magic, hence the name. Other pollinators find these pretty flowers attractive, too.
If you don’t have a yard in which to plant wondrously pretty plants and flowers, this plant thrives in containers. If you’re the rock garden type, plant this. It loves rock gardens. Bolero’s characteristics are:
- perennial
- loves full sun
- does better in sandy, chalky soil with good drainage and with dry to average watering
- performs well in all zones
- grows up to two feet tall with a two-foot spread
The hummingbird mint might draw the birds and bees, but deer and rabbits don’t appreciate it. That’s alright, though, because your garden will look amazing with this pretty plant in it.
5. Kudos Ambrosia Hummingbird Mint Or Agastache Kudos Ambrosia
Now we come to the category of hyssop known as Kudos. These are in recent years horticulturalists-bred Agastache plants. It began with David Salman’s Agastache rupestris or licorice mint hyssop. When his High Country Gardens catalog began carrying it, others jumped on the bandwagon to breed their versions.
Agastache Kudos are known for their dwarf, bushy aspect, their bright colors, an improved life in cold areas of the country in addition to a wider swath of the country, and their capability of surviving hot, humid summers. A truly remarkable achievement, Agastache Kudos Ambrosia characteristics are:
- perennials
- prefers full sun
- must have well-drained soil for proper nutrition
- performs well in USDA zones five through ten
- grows around two feet tall and two feet wide
Kudos Ambrosia attracts pollinators of all types. We are drawn to it for its stunning colors of bright pink, orange, and white.
6. Kudos Hummingbird Mint or Agastache Kudos Coral
Beginning with orange buds that bloom into a pretty coral pink flower, Agastache Kudos Coral is a beautiful addition to any garden. Blooming from mid-summer to mid-fall, its characteristics are:
- perennials
- loves full sun
- prefers dry normal to sandy soil
- does well in zone four into areas where the winters are dry
- grows one and a half foot tall with a one and half foot spread
This pretty plant does well in containers and borders. It attracts the usual suspects in pollinators and is deer and rabbit resistant. Its scent is like sweet honey.
7. Agastache Hummingbird Mint Or Agastache Kudos Gold
For a basically lavender to purple flower, golden is an unusual color. Kudos Gold, though, turns a beautiful goldenrod color that attracts the birds, bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Its characteristics are:
- perennials
- loves full sun
- does well in normal to sandy, loamy soil
- performs well in USDA zones five to ten
- grows 16 inches tall with a spread of 20 inches
This pretty flower blooms from late spring into early fall. They have a mint-licorice-honey smell attractive to everyone. It grows well in containers and as border plantings. It’s deer and rabbit resistant.
8. Agastache Hummingbird Mint Or Agastache Kudos Mandarin
Unusual in anise hyssop flowers are bright orange. Its thick clumps of glowing color bloom from early summer to early fall. It has a pleasant aroma and draws pollinators of all types, but not deer or rabbits.
Its characteristics are:
- perennials
- full sun
- not much water
- grows well in normal to sandy soil
- performs well in zones five to ten
- grows a foot and half tall and slightly less wide
9. Agastache Hummingbird Mint Or Agastache Kudos Silver Blue
Blooming with a light, silvery blue flower from early summer to fall, this pretty plant attracts pollinators. It also attracts deer and rabbits. Its characteristics are:
- perennials
- full sun
- normal watering
- grows well in sandy, chalky soil
- performs well in zones five to ten
- grows up to two feet tall and up to three feet wide
10. Alabaster Or Agastache Foeniculum Alabaster
A giant hyssop or Hyssopus officinalis, to put it scientifically, the Alabaster plant features pretty white blooms from the middle of summer to early fall. With a licorice scent, this pretty flower draws pollinators, but they’re not attractive to deer and rabbits. Its characteristics are:
- perennials
- full sun
- normal watering
- grows well in sandy, chalky soil
- grows well in zones four to ten
- grows up to three feet tall and two feet wide
These plants do well in herb gardens, butterfly gardens, cottage gardens, and borders. The leaves are edible and are frequently used in salads and in herbal tea.
11. Blue Blazes Agastache
Carried in the High Country Gardens catalog and bred by Colorado’s Kelly Grummons, this hybrid is a cross between Agastache foeniculum and Salman’s Agastache Desert Sunrise. It features blazing lavender-purple blooms that color your garden from mid-summer to fall, drawing pollinators to it. It’s deer and rabbit resistant.
Its characteristics are:
- perennials
- full sun
- not much water
- normal, well-drained soil
- grows well in zones five to nine
- grows to just under five feet tall with almost three feet spread
12. Agastache Golden Jubilee Or Agastache Rugosa (Korean Mint)
Chartreuse isn’t a shade of green you’d expect to find in your garden, but if you go with this lavender-blue flower, that’s what you’ll get. With leaves of an anise scent, you’ll love them from mid-summer until early fall. It draws pollinators but isn’t attractive to deer and rabbits. Its characteristics are:
- perennials
- partial to full sun
- normal watering
- sandy, chalky soil but well-drained
- grows well in zones four to ten
- grows three feet tall with a two-foot spread
13. Agastache Purple Haze
Another hybrid from horticulturist David Salman of High Country Garden catalogs, this deep blue-violet flower blooms for most of the summer. Fragrant flowers and leaves draw pollinators but not deer and rabbits. Its characteristics are:
- perennials
- full sun
- not much water
- normal but well-drained soil
- grows well in zones six to ten
- grows three feet tall with a three-foot spread
FAQs
References:
- Hort.extension.wisc.edu
- Plants.usda.gov
- Missouribotanicalgarden.org
- Gardenia.net
- Perennials.com
- Highcountrygardens.com