Texas hummingbird mint
Agastache cana · Lamiaceae
Loose spikes of rosy-pink, tubular flowers over fine grey leaves that smell of bubblegum when brushed. Hummingbirds visit it all day.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to early October
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around texas hummingbird mint
The planner designed this bed around texas hummingbird mint when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why texas hummingbird mint stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Texas hummingbird mint × 8, pink
- 2 Winter heath × 6, white
- 3 Sea thrift × 5, pink
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Yarrow 'Cerise Queen' × 3, pink
- 7 Star of Persia × 5, purple
- 8 Pink lily leek × 12, pink
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are bells, globes, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 2½ ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to yarrow 'Cerise Queen' (24 in) and false sunflower 'Summer Nights' (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 8 plants in 2 groups (5 and 3). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for 13 weeks. From mid July to early October.
- Closes the season. For its last four weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 26 of the 26 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Winter heath is the first into flower, in late January, and texas hummingbird mint the last to finish, in early October. Pink is the colour seen most, on 4 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where texas hummingbird mint goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A plant of dry southwestern hills that asks for sun, poor soil and no winter wet. It brings a long season of soft pink to a gravel garden, where its airy habit mixes well with grasses.
- Hummingbird gardens
- Gravel and dry gardens
- Scented planting beside a path
What to plant with texas hummingbird mint
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Sunset hyssop: in flower together for 11 weeks, from mid July; happy in the same dry soil.
- Blue grama 'Blonde Ambition': in flower together for 13 weeks, from mid July; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same dry soil.
- Pineleaf penstemon: in flower together for five weeks, from mid July; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (12 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about texas hummingbird mint
Does texas hummingbird mint need sun or shade?
Texas hummingbird mint grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does texas hummingbird mint grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does texas hummingbird mint flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid July to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid July to early October |
| Zone 7 | Early July to early October |
| Zone 8 | Early July to early October |
| Zone 9 | Late June to early October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should texas hummingbird mint be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (80 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many texas hummingbird mint plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.
What flowers after texas hummingbird mint?
Texas hummingbird mint is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
What does texas hummingbird mint look like in winter?
Texas hummingbird mint dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Agastache
- Anise hyssop Agastache foeniculum
- Hyssop 'Black Adder' Agastache 'Black Adder'
- Hyssop 'Blue Boa' Agastache 'Blue Boa'
- Hyssop 'Blue Fortune' Agastache 'Blue Fortune'
- Sunset hyssop Agastache rupestris
In these guides
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (80 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid July to early October; upright spires; pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; grey-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.