Blue Fortune is a long-proven, award-winning anise hyssop that carries soft blue-violet, bottlebrush flower spikes on strong, upright stems from midsummer into early fall. It adds color at a time when many perennials are winding down.
The foliage has a clear black licorice scent when crushed, and the leaves and flowers are edible with a light anise flavor. Growing two to three feet tall, it suits borders, pollinator gardens and cutting beds, and the spikes also dry well. It is easy to grow, tolerates drought and is usually ignored by deer.
What it looks like
Dense, cylindrical bottlebrush spikes 3 to 5 inches long packed with tiny tubular flowers in soft powder blue-violet with slightly darker calyxes. Spikes are held singly at the tips of stiff, square, upright stems. Leaves are medium green, heart-shaped to oval with toothed edges and a slightly paler underside, 2 to 3 inches long. The plant is an upright, vase-shaped clump 24 to 36 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide. At peak bloom dozens of blue-violet spikes stand evenly over the foliage, often covered with bees.
Growing it with lavender
Blue Fortune shares lavender's love of full sun and well-drained soil, and its upright blue-violet spikes extend the look of a lavender planting well into late summer after lavender's main bloom.
Care
Grow in full sun and average to lean, well-drained soil; it handles dry spells once established. Hardy in USDA zones 4-9. Leave stems up over winter and cut them back in early spring; deadheading faded spikes keeps it tidy.
At a glance
-
Botanical name: Agastache
-
Flower color: Soft blue-violet
-
Foliage: Medium green
-
Growth habit: Upright, vase-shaped clump
-
Mature size: 24–36 in tall × 18–24 in wide
-
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
-
Light: full sun
-
Bloom start: Early-July
-
Peak bloom: Early-August
-
Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
-
Deer resistance: Resistant
-
Pollinator value: Excellent
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.