Agastache foeniculum
A perennial herbaceous shrub that fills the garden with lilac flower spikes and a refreshing liquorice-mint fragrance, from summer to autumn.
About the variety. Anise hyssop is considered one of the best plants for pollinators; the tubular flowers attract large numbers of bees and butterflies. The flowers are edible. Drought-resistant and unappealing to rabbits and deer.
Itinerário técnico
Um guia de cultivo passo a passo, da sementeira à colheita.
Sow in trays on the surface or barely covered, because the seed is small and needs light. Germination is slow and uneven, two to four weeks, at 18 °C to 22 °C. Do not drown the tray: moisten with a sprayer. Transplant at eight to ten centimetres and plant with the collar well at the surface, never buried, because that is where the plant rots. Sow in late winter or spring, in a sheltered tray, to plant out in the final spot after the frosts.
It wants ordinary garden soil, cool and free draining, at a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. It is not a dry soil herb: in poor dry ground it stays small and flowers little. In heavy soil, improve drainage with compost; winter moisture only kills it if water stands.
It wants full sun and warmth, between 15 °C and 25 °C, and tolerates dry spells once established. It is herbaceous and very hardy: it dies back to the ground in winter, takes about -30 °C and resprouts in spring. It prefers full sun and cool soil; in a Mediterranean climate it appreciates summer watering. On the Portuguese coast it grows well and humid air is no problem. Inland in Portugal and Spain it needs summer watering to flower well. In France and Germany it is a border perennial with no winter problem at all and no protection needed. The same calendar applies in Italy: conditions in the centre and south are close to those of southern Portugal and Spain, and those of the north to central France.
It asks for little and an over rich soil works against it. Soil that was composted for the previous crop is enough, with no extra feeding. Excess nitrogen gives soft, watery growth with little flavour and much greater sensitivity to pests and cold.
Water regularly only in the first year, while the roots establish. After that it needs practically no watering in open ground, and too much water is the commonest mistake: it dilutes the aroma, softens the tissue and rots the roots. Let it dry out well between waterings.
Hoe often and always shallowly, because the roots are short, near the surface and break easily. The best method is to prepare the bed two or three weeks in advance, let the first flush of weeds germinate, remove it and only then sow: that gives you a decisive head start. A thin layer of sieved compost between the rows greatly reduces later work.
Pests are few because the plant's aroma keeps many insects away. Aphids are the commonest problem and gather on the soft shoots, above all on over fed plants: cut off the affected tips and apply potassium soap. Red spider mite appears in dry heat and in pots, and is checked by wetting the foliage in the morning. Slugs and snails devastate seedlings: protect with an ash barrier in the first weeks. Thrips and leafhoppers are occasional and rarely need action.
The disease that actually kills these plants is root and collar rot from excess moisture, above all in a wet winter on heavy soil. There is no treatment: only prevention, through drainage, shallow planting and a handful of coarse sand or gravel around the collar. Powdery mildew can appear on crowded plants and is solved by opening them up with pruning.
Harvest the leaves and the flowering spikes by cutting the stems above a pair of leaves; it regrows and flowers again. Aroma is most concentrated just before flowering, in the morning once the dew has dried. In late winter cut all the dead growth down to the ground: the plant resprouts from the base and lasts many years. Allow about 45 to 60 days from transplanting to the first harvest of this variety. The reference colour is lilac, and that is what tells you it is ready.
