Agastache ‘Acapulco Salmon and Pink’

Thank you to Diana Kirby for sending this photo from her garden and her tips on this drought-tough perennial.

She’s had her Agastache for a couple of years, planted in morning sun with afternoon shade. This Agastache cultivar gets about 2.5′ tall and a 1.5′ wide. It is a member of the mint family and has lovely mint-scented leaves.

Agastaches have the common name of hummingbird flower, and this one is covered in delicate orange and pink tubular blooms. This perennial dies back to the ground in winter, but comes back and is covered in blooms through spring and summer, but may not flower as long during times of exceptional heat and drought.

This Agastache is smaller and more compact than some of the other available cultivars, so it looks great at the front of beds and along borders. It tolerates slightly heavy soil but prefers a little drainage, so don’t overwater. Also, don’t fertilize much. And if they get overgrown, simply dig and divide them in the fall to place in other areas of your garden, or pass some along to friends. You may also find some errant seedlings, but this plant is not really invasive.