Anise Hyssop

Do you want your landscape to be in harmony with nature? Are you looking for water-wise plants that feed butterflies, hummingbirds, and a huge variety of beneficial pollinators? Looking to add easy-care, edible plants to your front yard landscape? Then you need the Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) for all that and more!

Showy lavender-blue flower spires bloom all summer for your enjoyment and attract loads of pollinators and attention! It will fill in fast to create a marvelous display with very little extra care on your part.

This wonderful herbaceous perennial isn't just pretty to look at! It's also useful in the kitchen. Aromatic leaves smell like candy canes with a kiss licorice stick. It is also known as an antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory plant. You might try drying sprigs for use in healthy potpourri that doesn't contain man-made chemicals.

Anise Hyssop essential oil is said to have purifying benefits, and its chemical compounds display antibacterial and antifungal properties. Hyssop is mentioned in the Bible and has a long history in culinary, medicinal, and historical uses. Agastache originates from the Greek word 'aga', meaning 'very much', and 'stachys', meaning 'spikes', referring to the many flower spikes.

Once the dark green leaves are dried and steeped, they also make a delicious, refreshing tea - either hot or iced or infused in water. It's fun to use its edible flowers either fresh or dried to flavor fruit salad, pasta, and salad.

Planting and Application:

Use Hyssop to add color to your late-season herb, perennial, and pollinator gardens, still blooming long after many other plants are finished. It not only looks terrific, but it's also a mainstay for beneficial pollinators and our precious native bee populations. No Butterfly Garden would be complete without Anise Hyssop! Send migrating Monarchs on their way south with a good nectar resource.

If you have a sunny perennial border, you'll want to use these in the mid-ground for a big boost of color. Partner these wand-like flowers with other herbs for height and backdrops that look great all season.

Install your own Cottage Garden or Rock Garden on a front yard berm. Hyssop can be grown along walkways and paths. Allow your guests to brush against the scented foliage to layer in an important fragrance element in your design.

Grow the plants in-ground, or use them as Fillers in large, seasonal containers! Tolerant of drier soil and xeric locations once established, Hyssop can be highly drought-tolerant! Don't forget to snip a few for your indoor bouquets!

• Lovely, Lavender Blue Flower Wands
• Sweet Minty-Licorice Fragrant & Aromatic Foliage
• Incredible Butterfly Magnet
• Good Sized & Easy to Grow
• Containers, Herb Gardens, Pollinator Beds & Long-Lasting Late-Season Color

#ProPlantTips for Care:

This variety of Hyssop is more tolerant of cold winters and wet soil. However, in the coldest growing zones, give it a sheltered spot. Plant this handsome low-maintenance clumping perennial in a sunny location. They do best in full sun to partial sun exposure, in well-drained soils. The drying power of the morning sun keeps the scented foliage healthy and mildew-free! 

While moderately drought tolerant, you'll get the best performance with a regular schedule of supplemental water. Use a consistent watering schedule for plants growing in containers. Although this plant does well in thin, poor soil, we do recommend you protect your investment and encourage healthy roots by using Nature Hills Root Booster at planting time to help your plant uptake nutrients in the soil more efficiently.

Anise Hyssop reaches a mature height of 3 to 4 feet, spread 2 to 3 feet wide, but you can pinch back the plants before they bloom to keep them smaller and more compact. Deadhead to prevent seed dispersal and keep the plant neat and tidy. Consider planting this in large containers if you want to control the spread. Prune back the stems in late fall, mulch the crown well, and water in well for the winter.

• Loves Full Sun
• Best in Very Well-Drained Soil
• Moderate to Low Moisture Once Established
• Widely Adaptable
• Rarely Damaged by Deer

It's a vigorous grower, and in some states, it does a little too well. Luckily, Nature Hills uses Plant Sentry™ to protect you and your community from invasive plants.

You won't see this selection in every garden center. Order now at Nature Hills for your pollinators, your kitchen, and your landscape and enjoy the sight and smell of Anise Hyssop today! What a gorgeous plant!