Anise Hyssop

Happy 2010 to everyone and welcome to a whole new year of info from the MOSI, Tampa BioWorks Butterfly Gardens and Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove. As always we are happy for your questions and comments and are always happy to write a blog post to answer your questions.

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The anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) is by some miracle still holding on in the gardens and continuing to bloom even with the recent cold snaps. When crushed, the leaves of anise hyssop have a fragrant licorice or anise aroma. This member of the mint family is native to the northern portions of North America but it still seems to thrive in West Central Florida gardens.

The tiny clusters of purple flowers are deliciously attractive to smaller species of butterflies like the Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus) pictured right and various species of hairstreak butterflies like the Fulvous Hairstreak (Electrostrymon angelia) pictured below. These diminutive flowers are also pollinated by a number of species of bee and you can find some neat species making visits like the Green Metallic Bee. When creating a butterfly garden, try using a wide variety of nectar plant species in a variety of colors and heights. Br providing a variety of nectar plants you often will attract a greater variety of butterfly species.

Anise hyssop is a perennial plant that can handle full sun and has minimal watering needs. These plants can grow 3 to 5 feet in height and seem to do best when the deadheads are removed after they finish blooming.