Paul - I've tried of few of the 'Kudos' series without any luck in overwintering them over the last few years. I tried to situate them in the best draining portions of my property, where other plants with picky drainage habits have prospered (Kniphofia, Caryopteris, Lavender) despite my mostly clay soil, and A. foeniculum, 'Blue Fortune' and 'Blue Boa' all do well for me also, but the 'Kudos' plants kept kicking the bucket and I didn't want to treat them like annuals anymore.

If you really want a warmer-colored Agastache, one that has done OK for me is the western species A. rupestris, and the cultivar 'Apache Sunset' in particular. I grew 3 from seed in 2018, and added 2 more purchased as quart-sized plants in 2019, and I've managed to get at least 3 of them to survive through fall 2021.

I've tried of few of the 'Kudos' series without any luck in overwintering them over the last few years

Thanks for the warning, especially as we seem to be in the same region. My intended planting site is in a slightly raised bed, because the lot was filled to make it level, but in general there seems to be more rain here than we really need. Right now I'm not finding a source for 'Apache Sunset' as plants, and I can't start seeds indoors this year, so it may all have to wait.

FWIW, in a previous agastache discussion, someone warned me that no agastache with southwestern ancestry will ever survive here. How to tell which named cultivars have southwestern ancestry is beyond my ken.

one that has done OK for me is the western species A. rupestris, and the cultivar 'Apache Sunset' in particular.

@sah_upstate4 (zone 5b - NY), I am curious if Apache self seeds (which I would like).

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) I haven't seen any evidence of self-seeding here, but I'm sure it does in ideal conditions.

@sah_upstate4 (zone 5b - NY), I believe that some are sterile and others like "Golden Jubilee" are prolific seeders.

UPDATE (April 2022):

The original plant shown in the first post has 'easily' survived to see a third season.

Rouge, nice healthy specimen, that is off to a great start, you should not have to wait until August to see bloom. Nice to know it can winter over in an unheated garage.

I see some of my HBB came back this spring, but for the most part, I'm seeing a lot of reseeding too. It is an amazing year for reseeding. Penstemon has reseeded everywhere. I think I'm going to have too much of it. Alyssum too, but you can never have too much Alyssum. [g] I won't mulch the garden beds until I can recognize all the seedlings to figure out what I want and what I don't want. That makes every season fun with the mystery of how different it looks from one year to the next.

I read this thread when it was originally posted but just read through it again - and found it equally enjoyable and informative!

I do believe I MUST obtain that Globetrotter agastache! Wow! I'm a little hesitant to introduce another agastache to my garden because the one I have is so prolific, and I'm surprised to see them here in well-maintained garden settings. However, in cleaning out an old (and I do mean OLD - seeds from 2004 in there!) seed box over the winter, I came across a seed packet for straight up agastache foeniculum, which is what I must have started all those years ago. So perhaps mine is more vigorous than some of the newer introduced cultivars or varieties. I'm guessing (hoping?) that the newer ones are more well-behaved!

Skip, that Agastache scrophulariifolia is marvelous! I love the height! Much of my agastache has reseeded in the cinderblock holes in the walls of my raised beds, and I leave it in the north sides of the beds as well as one bed which has fallen into some disuse, so it does reach taller than the in-ground plants, and I love it. I'm opening myself to lots of judgment here with this photo lol (regarding maintenance) but I'm posting anyway, to show the exuberance of the agastache and to show how much I love it! This grouping is at least five feet high, maybe taller, and the bees in summer are just incredible.

:)

Dee

nice healthy specimen, that is off to a great start, you should not have to wait until August to see bloom. Nice to know it can winter over in an unheated garage.

Thanks @prairiemoon2 z6b MA. I am always excited when a plant overwinters in a container. But having said that I will try to find a place for it in the ground as this container is too small.

Dee, wow, now that's quite remarkable, I'd love a stand of agastache like that, could hide in it if I wanted, lol. Yes, some types sure can seed out with abandonment ... though, a quick going over with the Dutch hoe makes very short work of the unwanted carpeting seedings. My indoor sown 'Globetrotter' are coming along nicely, will probably up pot them before setting out in the garden, the foliage is strongly fragrant.

FB I know it looks overgrown but it's wonderful! Right near the veggie garden, and always swarming with bees and to a lesser extent, butterflies. I love it! That being said, I was fairly ruthless in cutting it back this past season, trying to slow down reseeding. I'm sure enough will come back, and I'm sure there are a couple of seeds I missed haha! I'll have plenty this year.... I hope!

:)

Dee

I can often keep A. rupestrus alive for several seasons in my sandy loam when planted on a slope. It selfseeds enough that I have had it now for at least 6 years without needing to replace it. I have not had any luck with any of the other SW species or hybrids.

I also have one of the A. foeniculum cultivars, but of the top of my head don’t remember which one.

also am loving photos of the 'POQUITO' series with their nice compact habit

@FrozeBudd_z3/4 I picked up a POQUITO this past week and promptly plunked it into a container; looking forward to seeing it bloom.

Rouge, good, love to see how Poquito might do for you! Other than a small Lindenberg order, I didn't send off for anything else and very unlikely I'd come across the Poquito series at local nurseries. 'Morello' appears to have again wintered and indoor sown seedlings of it are budding up, fun what color variations come about.

love to see how Poquito might do for you!

Almost 3 weeks since planting it, this Poquito is still 'sulking'...showing no signs of growth.

I really like the pristine foliage of a growing Agastache (3rd season Blue Fortune). Here it is today:

Rouge that's lovely! With foliage like that you hardly need blooms!

:)

Dee

Yes, that foliage looks great Rouge, I'll have to attempt to pick one up!

'Morello' seedings as of today, these bloom surprisingly quickly and nice to have a "slight" bit of variation among them.

Such healthy, beefy foliage, Rouge!

I'm kinda envious -- something has been chomping holes in mine, plus it hasn't put on much growth yet this year, either.

I planted Blue Fortune and Black Adder last year, and I think I only lost one plant out of 12! I’m very much looking forward to their second season!

Rouge, good, love to see how Poquito might do for you!

@FrozeBudd_z3/4 here it is 2 months later"

Cute plant that really resembles a catmint with that tiny foliage, will be especially nice when it fills out further.

I did pick up a small 'Blue Fortune' and tucked it next to some pink phlox. My species agastache are wilting away as you had shown regarding the culvers root, though in my case, it's been the awful soaking rains, so unlike last summer when we couldn't buy ourselves any bit of moisture!

Rouge, 'Golden Jubilee' is very reliable for me, in the fifteen years we've been here, only once had they all winterkilled when snow cover was very scant, of course there were scads of seedlings to replace them!

I actively searched out a GJ this past spring as I want seedlings.

This past week it is finally in flower:

Next year, you should have have a multitude of seedlings, it can quickly become too much of a good thing, though easy to manage the myriad of offspring.

A very nice robust seedling, a hybrid between our native species and 'Golden Jubilee', plant is 5 ft tall with good color saturation, I took cuttings, love to have a grouping of these!

I had goldfinches on my agastaches the past couple of days. I haven't seen one all season and they still just show up for the agastache as it goes to seed.

Those flowers "stalks" are way long @FrozeBudd_z3/4!

Blue Fortune in a container:

This is the 3 season for this plant in a container. Although this is a larger container than it had been in the first 2 seasons it still wilts too quickly. If it survives this coming winter I will put it in the ground somewhere.

Rouge, you should attempt some cuttings and tuck them in the ground after about six weeks.

Yeah, the above self sown seedling really stands out, am sure a grouping of them would have a bit of a wow factor as a backdrop!

will be especially nice when it fills out further.

Not that it filled out much but I am impressed that this agastache still shows some flowers even in late October. (I have two other varieties of agastache and they have long since gone to seed).

I had problems with my "Black Adder". It was stunted in the first part of the season, might have been much too dry in the location I inched it over to in the spring to give it more room, then when I moved it back to where it was originally it got all floppy, then I moved it to another bed in the early fall. Too late in the season to judge it's performance in that location, but if it doesn't perform well or is too floppy next year it's getting shovel pruned. I like it but not enough to keep fussing around with it.

'Globetrotter' gave a nice showing with its bright rosy violet color, had flowered on the late side though, hopefully it winters, will sow more just in case. 'Blue Fortune', I now have half a dozen rooted cuttings.

The only agastache to have done poorly for me is 'Astello Indigo', it suffers from some leaf disease and drop most of its foliage.

There seem to be so many ''new' varieties of Agastache appearing in the last couple of years

Agastache "Navajo Sunset" was outstanding here this year, flowering profusely from seed started in late winter.

https://www.kraeuter-und-duftpflanzen.de/media/image/e08202d3146d0890ae667ce100a172db.jpg

So my Blue Fortune lasted 3 seasons in its container, coming up so healthy each spring was a complete no show this spring. I dont believe this is unexpected from what I have read ie being a shorter lived perennial.

To compensate, our "Golden Jubilee", planted in the ground last year arose just fine this spring with 'golden' foliage...

Same, your plant looks of full maturity and very well shall not return next year, BUT I spy babies in the photo! Believe me, 'Golden Jubilee' can carpet seed where happy!

My Blue Fortune and Black Adder both came back and this year I’m adding Crazy Fortune!

BUT I spy babies in the photo! Believe me.

That's ridiculous @FrozeBudd_z3/4! Your powers of observation are w/o peer. I went outside an checked near the plant and you are correct...all ready the babies have come up.

This is my first experience with a non sterile Agastache (and what I am seeing so far is from that single "Jubilee" shown in the picture....that flowered last year.). It clearly carpet seeds just like verbena bonariensis that I have experience with.

and very well shall not return next year

So FB, I am curious about how you proceed....do you wait till the babies are lots further along and then weed out the ones you don't want, leaving a few to continue to mature and grow and so be alive for next season?

Agastache envy here. I just cannot get them to do much at all apart from the much daintier ones such as Apricot Sprite (in fact, the only one I have). I don't do any watering and my soil is very lean so some plants do very well indeed, while others are dire. I have tried to grow the tall blue agastache with various heliopsis/rudbeckia, heleniums and such but it seems like it is not to be.

Rouge, these transplant rather easily, you can move a few around as desired and weed the others out, I get sooo many 'GJ' seedlings that I'm insensitive to culling vast numbers. Nice photo btw !!

Rosaprimula, agastache foeniculum is native here, not overly common, though once in the garden always will be some seeds sprouting over the years, plants are prone to some type of stem wilt. Others don't return for me, there's been no sign of the many 'Globetrotter' set out last spring, no seedlings as well, though have some languishing in a tray, should get to those! Some of these tall sorts will hybridize between themselves and interesting seedlings can come to be.

these transplant rather easily, you can move a few around as desired and weed the others out

Thanks@FrozeBudd_z3/4...I have already done just that :).

Nice photo btw

Thanks FB. I took it subsequent to all the rain we got and so everything looks fresh.

(Btw, I planted one of the newer varieties of dwarf agastache (part of the poquito series?) in the ground last season and one in a pot. The potted one survived the winter but the one in the ground was a no show this spring :( ).

Poquito Blue as of today:

Love this Golden Jubilee @FrozeBudd_z3/4. Once the flowers fill in it will be humming with activity.

A triple

Nice grouping of plants Rouge! 'Golden Jubilee' certainly is a good mixer where the room permits, but even in denser planting it grows more lean and narrow to fit itself in.

Hey @FrozeBudd_z3/4 here is my first seedling of 2023 that has grown enough to now be in flower, (A self seed).

Rouge, these are cheerful plants to have dotted about and I now like them even more after having found a single stem mutation that is both different in stature and unique leaf structure, really quite a wonderful look and texture of those I have propagated from such. Am unable to show photos here as these may be sent out for testing after my further evaluation.

Am unable to show photos here as these may be sent out for testing after my further evaluation.

@FrozeBudd_z3/4 you are always one step ahead....on the cutting edge :).

I wish! Yes, but I do keep an eye out for desirable variations and mutations and scan volunteer seedlings for superior traits, something all keen gardeners should. :)