I agree with you, that it is not the most beautiful flower, and they do reseed vigorously. I keep it because it blooms for a long time and attracts many beneficial pollinators. It is also very drought tolerant and finches love to eat the seeds. Unfortunately, the finches swaying on the stalks and pecking at the seeds is why they can pop up great distances from where they were originally planted. They are easy to recognize and pull out when still small, but there are hundreds or thousands of them. Careful mulching can help prevent some of the reseeding, but that prevents other, more desirable reseeders, from sprouting. I don't know if this helps you, but I do agree with your observations.

Martha

I used to have it in lean soil and it did well. Mine were seeds from Agastache Blue Fortune and I did enjoy the flowers as did the pollinators. :O)

There are other agastache varieties that also attract bees and hummingbirds and are more attractive that don't reseed as readily. 'Firebird' is a nice pink and dainty looking flower.

I like agastache mexicana, which I grew originally from commercial seed, but have been unable to get collected seeds to germinate. It is not spreading, and I am in a southern climate. The fragrance is phenomenal. I may try vegetative propagation this year to get more.

Are these invasive, I WS'd Agastache "Honeybee White" and "Golden Jubilee"? They have sprouted! But i don't want an invasive plant!

I don't know about HoneyBee White, but Golden Jubilee is a great perennial, not at all invasive. I have two nice big clumps of it and in three years I have only had three seedlings pop up a few feet away from them.

I have grown Blue Fortune for many years and would not be without it. Mine was glorious last year, over 5 feet tall with beautiful blue spikes, and attracted several types of butterflies as well as the bees. It is not perennial in my zone and I don't find it invasive because I deadhead everything in my garden. It produces so many seeds I can imagine it being considered invasive if left in the garden over winter. I have had a few volunteers pop up over the years, but they were easy to identify and pull.

I guess my problem is the Autumn two years ago when I fell and fractured my heel. No yard clean up, and now I am paying the price. We are getting so much rain right now though, that I should be able to pull the babies I don't want quite easily. (The ones that are pushing out my gooseneck loosestrife.)

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You can see how they are all growing along the edge of my bed. The roots seem to have runners as well. Maybe it isn't Agastache, but the flowers sure look like it.

Here's a photo of the flower..not very close up, but it's in the lower right corner, just in between my Joe Pye and bee balm. (Light purple spear, looks like a mint flower a bit). It does have a lovely scent. Perhaps it's a wild version?

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I think Blue Fortune and Black Adder are sterile hybrids, they are both gorgeous and neither one has made any seedlings in my gardens. I also have a small Golden jubilee, which I got as a seedling in a swap, and it hasn't made any seedlings yet.

But the straight Agastache foeniculum does seed around all over the place. I love it though, think it mixes well with other more showy perennials and looks nice in a drift. I grow it in the "xeric" garden which is quite dry, and it does well there. And it is one of the bumblebees' favorite plants!