Agastache 'Rosie Posie'

Agastache 'Rosie Posie': Hot Pink and Hummingbird Approved

Hot pink flowers in magenta-purple cups that hold their colour long after the bloom is done. 'Rosie Posie' is a whole bouquet that refuses to wilt. RING AROUND THE HUMMINGBIRDS.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Agastache hybrid
• Common Name: Anise Hyssop, Hummingbird Mint
• Height: 46–56 cm (18–22 in)
• Spread: 61–76 cm (24–30 in)
• Flowers: Hot pink, set in magenta-purple calyxes that hold their colour after bloom
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to early fall (July to September)
• Foliage: Green and fragrant, in a dense, bushy mound
• Features: Fragrant flowers and foliage, edible flowers

Where to Plant: It's compact and wide, so it's great for the front of a sunny border, a hot slope or a big patio pot. Plant it near a window if you want to watch the hummingbirds.

Companion Plants: Build a bright, sunny pollinator bed around these hot pink spikes, with every plant happy in dry soil. Armeria 'Rubrifolia' fronts the bed at 15 to 20 cm with magenta-pink pompoms over burgundy leaves in May and June. Coreopsis UpTick™ Gold & Bronze adds gold daisies with a bronze eye at 30 to 36 cm from June to September. Achillea New Vintage™ Red brings flat red heads at 66 to 71 cm from June to September. Panicum Prairie Winds® 'Niagara Falls' arches behind at 120 cm with wide, powder-blue blades.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil. Wet soil in winter is the most common reason Agastache doesn't return, so amend clay with grit or raise the planting a little. Water through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. It doesn't need rich soil or much fertilizer. Leave the stems up over winter to shelter the crown, then cut them down in spring once new growth starts. Walters officially rates it a zone 6 plant, so in zone 5 gardens give it a warm, sheltered, well-drained spot.

History: 'Rosie Posie' was bred at Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan, by Hans Hansen and Kevin Hurd, from a 2010 cross between Agastache 'Firebird' and Agastache 'Ava'. 'Peachie Keen' came from the same cross, so the two are siblings.

Final Thoughts: Plant it in sun, sprinkle a few edible flowers on dessert and keep the rest for the pollinators. POCKET FULL OF POLLINATORS.