Agastache Summer Glow

Agastache 'Summer Glow' is a beautiful variety highly valued for its long summer flowering in bi-coloured flower spikes. This perennial has a particularly compact and upright habit, forming a small bush with dark green foliage, scented with aniseed and mint. From May, it bears slender spikes of small golden yellow elongated flowers that attract butterflies and bees in large numbers, beautifully contrasting with purple calyxes with pink, red, and purple highlights. It is a vigorous hybrid, resistant down to -15°C (5°F). It tolerates drought once well-established. This sterile variety will not self-seed like other cultivars and will not invade your garden. It is an ideal perennial for sunny borders to enjoy its fragrance. Plant it in full sun in well-drained soils that are preferably rich and moist. Provide a little moisture during summer and remove faded spikes to support its magnificent flowering.

The hybrid Agastache 'Summer Glow' belongs to the Lamiaceae family, like salvias, catmints, and thymes. It carries the genes of A. mexicana, renowned for its abundant flowering and aromatic vegetation. This herbaceous plant is more perennial in rather dry soil in winter. It forms a broad upright clump, with highly branched stems, reaching 80cm (32in) in height and 60cm (24in) in width. It produces dark green triangular leaves, 5cm (2in) long, with toothed edges. They grow along the length of the angular floral stems. When crushed, they release a very pleasant scent of aniseed and mint. Flowering occurs continuously from May to October in the form of particularly dense upright inflorescences with vibrant colours. Each small tubular golden yellow flower is surrounded by dark violet bracts. This nectar-rich flowering attracts a large number of bees and butterflies. The vegetation dries up in winter. It fears stagnant moisture in heavy soils.

Agastache 'Summer Glow' is easy to grow in well-drained soil, tolerating temporary drought. Grow it in sunny, slightly wild-looking flower beds and in large flower borders. It looks wonderful in pots on a patio, in groups of three identical plants or mixed with blue, violet, or red varieties. It should never dry out in hot regions during the flowering period. This carefree perennial adds height and substance to borders composed of grasses (stipas, eragrostis, pennisetums), herbaceous salvias, tall daisies, echinaceas, goldenrods, and asters. It also pairs well with shrub potentillas in yellow or orange, for example, as well as with the perennial Geranium 'Azure Rush'. The flowers are highly attractive to bees, so consider using the plant to attract pollinators to your orchard and vegetable garden.

The flowers and highly fragrant leaves are edible. They are delicious in salads or fish dishes.