PlantFiles: Sunset Hyssop, Licorice Mint
Agastache rupestris

I love this little plant. I grew it by seed [Winter Sowing Method] and it did bloom the first year. The plants are still quite small [maybe 12-14" tall] and not filling out yet. I'm hoping next year they will be much bigger. Nice addition to the garden.

From your friends at Botanical Interests: Agastache rupestris, also known as Licorice Mint, is a Southwestern U.S. native. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees flock to its bright orange and lavender flower spikes. An airy plant, with an explosion of color, reminiscent of the evening sunset, it has greenish-gray foliage that exudes a pleasant root beer scent that reminds some of licorice or mint when touched. The leaves make a refreshing tea. Plants are drought-tolerant when established. Agastache rupestris was a Plant Select winner in 1997.

This is absolutely my favourite agastache. Very aromatic ..licorice..it smells after a candy that we, in Netherlands, call 'dropjes'.. It has pretty grey-green feathery foliage. I always cut it back into a round habit. By that it keeps also compact...even with heavy rainfall. I 've been surprised how tough this little plant is. I took this plant, raised from seeds that I got in trade (Thanks!), with me to my new house and garden. It has stayed in a pot somewhere between many others for nearly a year. A little neglected because I've had still so much to do in the house after moving. It has survived frosts and a lot of winterwet. Even now..the most wet summer ever...doing great in my garden. It does'nt seed around like some other agastache do. The plants are self-cleening..so I find it difficult to save seeds of it.

Does not like wet winters...I use gravel as mulch rather than wood mulches since our winters tend to be wet. The grouping I have planted is equal amounts of Gaura Whirling Butterflies and Sunset Hyssop with lesser amounts of Lavender Munstead and Perovskia Little Spire. We love it!

This plant grows from the roots each spring to 2-3 feet tall in my heavy clay soil. It's not fussy, doesn't need much water, and can tolerate a fair amount of shade. The smell is absolutely wonderful and it's one of the best plants for attracting hummingbirds. The foliage is thin and airy, so my personal preference is for Agastache cana and A. cana x rupestris hybrids, which are a bit more full and bushy.

We really enjoyed a grouping that revolved around this particular agastache in summer of 2006, so am sharing it here -

The overall airiness of this plant contrasts beautifully with the thicker, pebble-surfaced leaves of purple sage (Salvia officinalis purpurea), which echoes the mauve calyxes of the A. rupestris flowers while at the same time contrasting with their apricot color.

Rue and the other hyssop (hyssopus officinalis) associate well with this group, and if you don't mind how invasively calamint (Calamintha nepeta) self-sows, its small, grayish, woolly leaves with airy sprays of tiny lilac flowers add more interest as part of the foreground, with Salvia guarnitica 'Brazilian Black and Blue in the background.

Repeat this agastache a few times down a border of the foregoing so that it further complements a large, deep purple morning glory like Ipomoea 'Hatsu Arashi' planted overhead in an arbor. Hatsu Arashi flowered well and produced a lot of seed for this coming summer in spite of only having 1/2 day of sun "thanks" to a monster silver maple.

Love any and all Agastaches! They are the best summer flower in the garden! Long blooming, smells great, looks beautiful and attracts Hummers!

Leave the stems until the next Spring when new green growth appears, then cut the old ones.

Prefers lean, well drain soil. Very fin foliage. Smells remarkably like root beer! It is very pleasant to brush against this plant while weeding the herb bed. The scent fills the air and lingers.

I purchased 3 small plants from High Country Gardens in the spring of 2004, and planted them in a hot dry sunny bed in zone 5a. They have been VERY slow to establish. One of the plants was a foot tall by the end of 2005, but the other two aren't much bigger than they were when they arrived in the mail.

This plant has everything going for it, yummy smell, gorgeous flowers and a hummingbird/butterfly attracter to boot.

It looks great in containers but I've learned the hard way that it may not survive a hard winter above ground.

Agastache rupestris grows quickly from seed, and it's terrific for attracting hummingbirds.

Live in mountains of New Mexico at 7000', annual rainfall about 10". Several specimens throughout garden, full sun to part-sun. Water 2 times per week, 20 oz per time, plants get to waist high. Heavily mulched with chipped/shredded wood.

I propagate readily via seed and soft-cuttings.

Sunset hyssop is a wonderful plant to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to the garden. Plants grow up to 2-feet tall and produce spikes of tubular, coral colored blossoms in late summer. The fragrant foliage has an unusual smell of root beer. Plants prefer well-drained soil and are tolerant of poor dry conditions.