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rusty_blackhaw

Should I return this perennial?

rusty_blackhaw
9 years ago

I picked up three plants of Agastache "Raspberry Nectar" today, noting that the label said the plant was hardy in zones 5-10.

Then I see multiple Internet sources saying it's only hardy to zone 7.

It might be worth trying as an annual but I really was looking for something to survive more than a single season, and iffy Agastaches in a climate where prolonged winter wetness can be a problem probably means one and done.

Experiences with this one?

Comments (6)

  • BlueBirdPeony
    9 years ago

    Does it offend you if I ask how expensive it was? Things like this often come down to price for me. If you bought it for a steal it might be worth a shot. If it was a bit pricey, and I lost it, I would be more irritated.

  • TexasRanger10
    9 years ago

    I looked it up. If it was me, I'd keep em. Many of them bloom only in fall but there is blogger who grew this one --says the plant is "husky" & "a blooming machine from summer through fall" & "really attracts the bees, butterflies & hummers". You might try adding some gravel to the planting hole & build it up some.

    I'm trying A. cana this year from a few seeds I "stole" from some plants up the street that did great last year. I planted them on the high end of the property where it drains fastest. The thing that sold me was the mass of monarchs I saw on them for a week last fall. What a sight! They were bumping into me when I walked over for a closer look, didn't have the camera, rats! There were a couple branches sticking out of the metal fence so I got a few seeds. The plants were very big.

    If the raspberry one really is a "blooming machine from summer through fall" that ought to make it worth the money even if it doesn't make it through winter.

    This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Sat, Apr 26, 14 at 23:07

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    9 years ago

    No experience with that one, but it is probably a 7. I know I'm casting a broad brush, but these plant sellers/growers/distributors so often exaggerate and/or misrepresent zone hardiness, it is really annoying.

    I would return 2 and try 1 as an experiment.

    I just returned a tender perennial (7) that fooled me. I was in a zone and didn't read the tag. It was actually blooming and beautiful. I think it was anemone. In my head I was thinking poppy. Duh. Note to self: pay attention when encountering pretty flowers, especially early in the season of flower lust.

    I also returned a peony that had a tag with a gorgeous pink color and most references on internet, including breeder, said it was red.

  • paul_
    9 years ago

    I agree with BBP, if it were me, price would come into play. If expensive, I'd return it. If relatively inexpensive, I'd keep at least one of them. If darned cheap, keep all 3. Though hybrids don't often breed true, and some are bred to be sterile, you could -- should you decide to keep one or more -- make a point of saving seed. If it can go from seed to flower in one growing season, then you could start them indoors or try winter sowing next year.

  • dbarron
    9 years ago

    I'd be awfully surprised if you overwintered it outside, but if you have very sunny locations available indoors, they do root pretty easily in mid-late summer.

  • TexasRanger10
    9 years ago

    I seriously doubt it will come true from seed. I looked up Ohio, generally it shows you don't get more than 40" of rain per season, thats good for agastache. Any more than 40"-- forget it.

    I have planted many plants that are listed as not hardy in my zone. Time after time the plant will make it just fine in spite of what I read online to the contrary. I take these zones with a grain of salt especially when I read info online which is all over the map.

    This happens all the time.......Yesterday I bought Spanish Lavender because its supposed to take summer humidity better. Many sites say zone 8-9, some say 7 another said 6, still another says no frost or freezing at all. The tag says -10 degrees. Who is right? I'm planting it in soil amended with gravel with a couple large rocks close by to help protect the roots on the top of a slope.

    We have many well established lantanas that make it just fine here in these parts that are listed over & over online as not hardy, along with several other plants I've looked up. Who comes up with these zones on tags anyway?

    Three plants makes a nice visual clump of color (or it just gives you three times better chance for one to make it). One plant merely makes for a specimen so that factors in for me.

    Wet winters, thats the bigger problem, but then, that would be the case with most any agastache.

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