Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Licorice Mint, Hummingbird Mint

Brand:  Walters Gardens

Description:

A lovely upright perennial with beautiful fragrant leaves and apricot buds, opening to lavender-pink blooms; drought tolerant, a wonderful addition to garden beds, containers or used in cut flower arrangements; low maintenance and easy to grow

Ornamental Features

Pinky Pie Anise Hyssop has masses of beautiful spikes of lightly-scented pink tubular flowers with lavender overtones rising above the foliage from mid summer to early fall, which emerge from distinctive peach flower buds, and which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive fragrant pointy leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Pinky Pie Anise Hyssop is a dense herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Self-Seeding

Pinky Pie Anise Hyssop is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Herb Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Pinky Pie Anise Hyssop will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant does not require much in the way of fertilizing once established. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Pinky Pie Anise Hyssop is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.