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Agastache mexicana
Lamiaceae FAMILY

Agastache mexicana

Agastache mexicana

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Agastache mexicana is usually found at elevations above 2,000 metres in the subtropical to tropical regions of Mexico. It is unlikely to tolerate more than a few degrees of frost, though has been seen growing successfully at Kew Botanic Gardens in the UK, which is in climate zone 7. Prefers a warm sunny sheltered position and a well-drained soil. Succeeds in most soils so long as they are well-drained. Plants are not very long-lived, especially in cultivation[1]. They can be grown as annuals, flowering and producing seed in their first year of growth[2]. The flowers are very attractive to bees, butterflies and humming birds.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 13°c[3]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first year. Plant out in late spring or early summer[PFAF]. Division in spring. Fairly simple, if large divisions are used it is possible to plant them straight out into their permanent positions. Basal cuttings of young shoots in spring[4]. Harvest the young shoots when they are about 10 - 15cm tall and pot them up in a lightly shaded position in a greenhouse. They should root within 3 weeks and can be planted out in the summer or following spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Agastache+mexicana>

Pollinators

Bees, Butterflies, Humming birds

References

  1. [1]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Growing from Seed. Volume 1. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
  4. [4]Popular Hardy Perennials. — Sanders. T. W. · Collingridge · 1926 · ISBN - ↩︎A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
  5. [5]Phytologia Vol. 62 No. 3 — Moldenke H.N. & A.L. · 1987 ↩︎A botanical journal devoted to the valid publication of new taxa.
  6. [6]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  7. [7]Antifungal activity of essential oils extracted from Agastache mexicana ssp. Xolocotziana and Porophyllum linaria ag — Zaida N. Juárez; Luis R. Hernández et al · 2015 · ISBN 0926-6690 ↩︎
  8. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎