Agastache 'Firebird' is starting to bloom. Too bad the intense heat we are having is fading the blooms. There aren't a lot of flowers yet, but there are more to come. The hummingbirds don't seem to be that choosy, fighting over them.
Longwing, I still find Agastache to be a enjoyable genus, despite its flaws. I would consider most Agastache to be a short-lived perennial though, and would not make a precise design in either color or structure with them (except perhaps 'Firebird' or the rugosa types). In a casual cottage style garden, where seedlings can grow where they sprout or thinned, and where the plants move around (i.e. randomly die), they would work better - similar to a biennial like verbascum or digitalis.
I've found that the hybrids and the cultivars are about equal, the cultivars acting like variations on the species. For example, I think of A. 'Desert Sunrise' as A. rupetris var. Desert Sunrise, or A.x Ava as A. cana var. Ava. I am almost always disappointed in the washed out colors of most (especially A. rupestris hybrids). 'Ava' and 'Tutti Frutti' had nice colors, as does the species A. cana. I find that most A. cana hybrids retain the weak stems of the parent, including 'Ava'.
The seedlings of both the hybrids and the species are quite variable. Are the hybrids significant improvements? In some ways/hybrids yes ('Firebird' is an improvement) but in other ways, no. A lot of those that I've tried retain the faults of the parents, with only a minor variation in color, and not much difference in floriferousness. It all depends upon the hybrid.
'Firebird' and 'Ava' (and one descendent of 'Desert Sunrise') are the only ones left in my garden. A. rupestris still lives in the wild space outside the garden. By the way, A. rupestris is the only one that I'd consider xeric.
Thanks again, forest. I took my initial agastache curiosity over to POSW so I now have a rupestris and a cana. Too soon to say much but the rupestris is an early favorite. The subtle colors of the flowers go nicely with the sage leaves. Still quite small though. Had part of the cana break off and the wood was square like a match stick.
Interesting that Firebird isn't a HCG variety. I see that Digging Dog keeps them so I'll order (along with the cistus you wrote about earlier) once it's not so bloody hot.
Longwing,
ReplyDeleteI still find Agastache to be a enjoyable genus, despite its flaws. I would consider most Agastache to be a short-lived perennial though, and would not make a precise design in either color or structure with them (except perhaps 'Firebird' or the rugosa types). In a casual cottage style garden, where seedlings can grow where they sprout or thinned, and where the plants move around (i.e. randomly die), they would work better - similar to a biennial like verbascum or digitalis.
I've found that the hybrids and the cultivars are about equal, the cultivars acting like variations on the species. For example, I think of A. 'Desert Sunrise' as A. rupetris var. Desert Sunrise, or A.x Ava as A. cana var. Ava. I am almost always disappointed in the washed out colors of most (especially A. rupestris hybrids). 'Ava' and 'Tutti Frutti' had nice colors, as does the species A. cana. I find that most A. cana hybrids retain the weak stems of the parent, including 'Ava'.
The seedlings of both the hybrids and the species are quite variable. Are the hybrids significant improvements? In some ways/hybrids yes ('Firebird' is an improvement) but in other ways, no. A lot of those that I've tried retain the faults of the parents, with only a minor variation in color, and not much difference in floriferousness. It all depends upon the hybrid.
'Firebird' and 'Ava' (and one descendent of 'Desert Sunrise') are the only ones left in my garden. A. rupestris still lives in the wild space outside the garden. By the way, A. rupestris is the only one that I'd consider xeric.
Thanks again, forest. I took my initial agastache curiosity over to POSW so I now have a rupestris and a cana. Too soon to say much but the rupestris is an early favorite. The subtle colors of the flowers go nicely with the sage leaves. Still quite small though. Had part of the cana break off and the wood was square like a match stick.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that Firebird isn't a HCG variety. I see that Digging Dog keeps them so I'll order (along with the cistus you wrote about earlier) once it's not so bloody hot.