SWCT

Those are beautiful pictures. Pineapple sage is a stunner, too bad that it blooms so late. Looks like a lot of flowers for the butterflies and bees to enjoy never the less.

jp

Which Agastache is that? Looks a lot like a couple of mine, so I'm curious!

Rose

Rose -

The Agastache in the photo is called 'Ava'. I purchased this Agastache online from High Country Gardens, and it is a standout! It is easily 2x as large as A. Cana or A. 'Desert Sunrise', which I also purchased this year from HCG.

My Ava is also doing well, but it has no new growth at the base the way Shades of Orange and Desert Sunrise are doing, so I'm wondering about its getting through the winter. Got to take some cuttings!

How old is your Turks Cap? I started some from seed and they are still only a foot tall - never bloomed. Do you have yours in full sun? Fertilize a lot?

Lisa

Do you mean the flowers are larger or the spike is longer or the whole plant is larger? It's a beauty, colorwise it appears a bit more intense than my After Eight or Tutti Frutti. My most intense colors were on Red Fortune which I loved but lost last winter. Better to have loved & lost than never to have loved at all...
OK , I'm getting a bit corny, but it is after midnight & We're talking about one of my favorite species! I love Salvias, Agastaches & Penstemons. Can't get enough of any of them & love the crosses on the Agastaches, makes you want to hold onto all your seeds- just in case. I really like A. Cana "Heather Queen" & all the variations of rupestris I have growing . I love barberi & have cana growing nearby, maybe I'll see Ava out there one of these days. Do post more pictures so we can tell why you like it so much. I find that there is so much variation out there when Agastache cultivars are sold. Salvias & Penstemons are much more of a sure thing.
I was thinking of starting a thread about which ones people like more than others. I like A. Pink Panther better than Tutti Frutti... cause the colors are prettier, more coral mixed in with the raspberry pink.
Your turn!

Rose

Is Turk's Cap hardy for you in CT? I thought we were to cold up here for that plant. I came really close to picking up Ava this spring. I'd kick myself but I'm getting older now and it may no longer be a good idea. And considering my luck with agastaches maybe I should do the plant a favor and not buy it. Already Just Peachy has bit the dust this year, Tutti Frutti probably will, but maybe Desert Sunrise will hang on. Great photos!

Wardw -

Turks Cap (Malvaviscus) is not hardy in CT. Each fall, I trim the plant you see in the photo down to about 6 inches, dig it up (trimming the roots as well), and place it in a pot indoors near a sunny window. This plant is incredibly tough and overwinters without any problem indoors. I replant outdoors in May, and by Autumn this plant is as tall as many of my butterfly bushes. Hummers are crazy about Turks Cap, as it is a native source of nectar for them down south.

Ward,
Thanks for your input on Turk's Cap. I have always wanted to get one but didn't know how it would do indoors in the winter. I may just consider one for next year if I can find a place for it (I am really running out of growing space and some things will definitely have to be eliminated next year.

Penny