Description
Yellow Giant Hyssop, Agastache nepetoides
QUART POT
Light: Full to Part Sun
Moisture: Medium
Soil: Rich, well-drained
Height: 4–6 ft
Bloom Season: Aug–Oct
Bloom Color: Pale yellow to cream
Benefits: Pollinators
Notes:
Yellow Giant Hyssop is a robust, fast-growing perennial in the mint family. It boasts bold vertical spikes, up to 16 inches long, packed with whorls of tiny, pale-yellow flowers. Each flower is only about ¼ inch long, having five-lobes and stamens that protrude past the ends of the petals. Only a few flowers bloom at a time, lasting 1–2 months from mid-summer through fall. Though small, the flowers are bursting with nectar which draws honeybees, bumblebees, Halictid bees, and butterflies—sometimes up to the first frost.
This plant has stiff, square stems with few branches and large oval-shaped, toothed leaves, up to 5 inches long. Unlike most other plants in the mint family, the foliage does not have a minty fragrance. The root system is rhizomatous, allowing the plant to spread and form colonies without being aggressive. This plant also self-seeds easily.
Yellow Giant Hyssop masses well in moist perennial beds and borders, butterfly gardens, or naturalized woodland or prairies. Although adaptable, this plant does not do well in deep shade or persistently dry sites. It prefers rich soil in a savanna-like (part shade) setting.
Photo credits:
1–3 Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
4 David G. Smith_Delaware Wildflowers_Bugwood.org
