Anise Hyssop: A Pollinator Magnet with Licorice-Scented Foliage

If you love black licorice, anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) belongs in your garden. Crushing its foliage releases a wonderful anise scent that delights licorice lovers but deters deer and rabbits. This tough native thrives in varied soils, tolerates drought, and produces soft blue-violet flower spikes that pair beautifully with summer yellows in both formal and informal plantings.

Plant Profile

• Botanical name: Agastache foeniculum
• Common names: Anise hyssop, fragrant hyssop, blue giant hyssop
• Origin: Northern North America—Washington to New Hampshire and most Canadian provinces
• Hardiness: USDA zones 1b–6b (–55°F)
• Typical communities: Prairies, woodland edges, mountain slopes, old fields
• Water: Medium to dry, well-drained; sand to clay-loam
• Light: Full sun to partial sun
• Mature size: 30–60 inches tall, 12–24 inches wide
• Benefits: Very drought tolerant; thrives in sand or gravel
• Seasonal interest: Flowers late June through early September
• When to plant: Spring or fall

Distinguishing Traits

Dark green leaves emit anise scent when crushed, deterring herbivores. Upright, sturdy flower stalks rarely flop, making it excellent for traditional borders or prairie-style plantings.

How to Use It

Best in medium to dry locations without standing water. Use on hillsides, along sidewalks or borders, in pollinator gardens, or on the dry upper edge of rain gardens. Light blue-lavender flowers combine nicely with yellow/orange bloomers like gray-headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) and stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida).

Pollinators adore it: great spangled fritillaries, bumblebees, leafcutter bees—all access nectar from the numerous shallow flowers on each spike.

Planting Notes

Thrives in loam-rich soils and can reseed prolifically (fewer seedlings in drier, sandier sites). Seedlings and mature plants are easy to thin or transplant. Widely available from native-plant growers in the upper Midwest and Northeast in various container sizes.

Pollinator Notes

Both short- and long-tongued pollinators access nectar. Most visit for nectar; pollen deposits on the head or abdomen as they enter flowers.