Agastache Kolibri

The Agastache 'Kolibri' is one of the few truly perennial hybrids, capable of withstanding several winters in our gardens. This variety is also interesting for its upright and compact habit, and its long summer flowering in the colors of dawn. Throughout the summer, as long as it does not lack water, it offers upright spikes adorned with long tubular flowers in shades of apricot to salmon, in a beautiful palette of orange tones. This perennial, easy-to-grow in well-drained but not too dry soil, undoubtedly adds a lot of personality to gardens.

The hybrid Agastache 'Kolibri' is a plant in the lamiaceae family, related to salvias, catmints, and other thymes. This herbaceous perennial, very long-lived in dry soil during winter, forms an upright clump, with highly branched stems, 60 cm (24in) tall and 50 cm (20in) wide. It produces triangular leaves, 5 cm (2in) long, with serrated edges, dark green, which are located along the length of the angular flowering stems. When crushed, they emit a scent of anise mixed with mint. The flowering extends from June-July to September, continuously, in the form of colourful upright inflorescences, in thin and dense spikes. Each small tubular flower, in shades of salmon to tender apricot, is surrounded by pinkish-purple bracts. This flowering, particularly nectar-rich, attracts a large number of bees and butterflies. The vegetation of this deciduous plant dries up in winter.

Easy to grow in well-drained soil, tolerating occasional drought, 'Kolibri' Agastache is cultivated in sunny and slightly wild-looking flower beds, in large flower borders, but also in pots on the terrace, in groups of three identical plants or mixed with blue, violet or red varieties. In hot and dry regions, it should never lack water during flowering. A worry-free perennial, it adds height and consistency to flower beds composed of grasses (stipas, eragrostis, pennisetums), herbaceous salvias, tall daisies, echinaceas, goldenrods, and asters. It also pairs very well with yellow or orange shrubby potentillas, for example, as well as with the perennial Geranium 'Azure Rush'.

The flowers and leaves of Agastache are edible and delicious in salads or fish dishes.