Agastache 'Blue Bayou'

Agastache 'Blue Bayou': Blue Spikes That Hummingbirds Mob

Indigo spikes on a compact, fragrant plant that hums with hummingbirds all summer. 'Blue Bayou' brings the blues to your sunny bed without a single mosquito. THE BAND PLAYS UNTIL FROST.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Agastache hybrid
• Common Name: Anise Hyssop, Hummingbird Mint
• Series: A Proven Selections® plant from Proven Winners®, bred by Walters Gardens
• Height: 41–46 cm (16–18 in)
• Spread: 36–46 cm (14–18 in)
• Flowers: Indigo blue flower spikes
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to early fall (July to September)
• Foliage: Green and fragrant, on a compact, upright plant
• Features: Fragrant flowers and foliage
• Plant Patent: USPP 35,759

Where to Plant: Its small size makes it perfect for the front of a sunny border, rock gardens, gravel gardens and containers. Give it a hot, dry spot where you can watch the hummingbirds. The one thing it won't forgive is heavy, wet clay, especially in winter.

Companion Plants: Plant Sedum 'Red Carpet' along the front, where its low red flowers sit just below the blue spikes all summer. Tanacetum 'Robinson's Giant Mix' brings pink daisies in June and July, just before the agastache gets going. At the back, Andropogon 'Red October' grows to 180 cm and adds a grassy finish in September and October. This is a tough, sunny trio.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil. Sandy or gravelly soil is ideal. Avoid heavy clay and low spots where water collects. Water regularly the first season, then only during long dry spells. Trim off spent flower spikes to encourage more blooms. Leave the stems standing over winter, since that helps the plant survive, and cut it back in spring once new growth appears. Walters Gardens notes it overwintered well in its zone 5 trial garden, but excellent drainage is key in cold areas.

History: 'Blue Bayou' was bred by Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan, as a successor to its earlier anise hyssops 'Rosie Posie' and 'Peachie Keen', with similar hardiness and performance in a new blue shade. The genus name Agastache comes from Greek words meaning "many ears of grain", for its flower spikes.

Final Thoughts: Give it a hot, dry, sunny bed and pull up a chair, because the deer skip it and the bees don't. EVERY NIGHT IS OPEN MIC.