Agastache foeniculum (Anise Hyssop)
Agastache foeniculum (Anise Hyssop)
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$30 minimum per species for seed.
$30 minimum per species for seed.
Each species requires a minimum of $30 of seed to proceed with checkout.
Pure Live Seed
Pure Live Seed
Seed is provided in Pure Live Seed (PLS) unless otherwise stated.
Pure Live Seed (PLS) refers to the percentage of a seed lot that consists of the desired species and is viable (capable of germination).
Here's why PLS is crucial for native seeds:
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Accurate Planting:
- PLS helps determine the actual number of viable seeds in a given weight or volume of seed.
- This ensures you plant the correct amount of seed to achieve the desired density and success rate.
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Cost-Effectiveness:
- By knowing the PLS, you can avoid overspending on seed that may not germinate.
- This is especially important for native seeds, which can be more expensive than some cultivated varieties.
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Weed Control:
- PLS helps minimize the presence of weed seeds within the seed lot.
- This reduces competition for resources and ensures the successful establishment of the desired native plants.
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Ecological Restoration:
- Using high-quality native seeds with a high PLS is essential for successful ecological restoration projects.
- It helps to re-establish diverse and resilient plant communities that support local wildlife.
Weight Conversions lbs. to oz.
Weight Conversions lbs. to oz.
0.01 pounds = 0.16 ounces
- 0.1 pounds = 1.6 ounces
- 0.25 pounds = 4 ounces
- 0.5 pounds = 8 ounces
- 0.75 pounds = 12 ounces
- 1.00 pounds = 16 ounces
Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) pairs upright spikes of blue-violet flowers with anise-scented leaves. Small flowers open along the spikes over several weeks in summer, bringing color and insect activity to a sunny border or informal meadow planting.
Plant specifications
Key growing facts
| Sunlight | Full sun to partial sun |
|---|---|
| Soil moisture | Average to dry; well-drained |
| Height | 2–3½ ft in Illinois accounts; garden plants may reach 5 ft |
| Bloom season | Midsummer into late summer; may continue longer in gardens |
Show / hide ▾Growing & planting details
| Growth habit | Upright perennial; can self-sow |
|---|---|
| Root form | Taproot |
Plant identification & seed reference
| Botanical name | Agastache foeniculum |
|---|---|
| Other common names | Anise hyssop |
| Plant family | Lamiaceae |
Where to plant
Choose full to partial sun and average to dry soil with good drainage. Plants are commonly described as about 2–3½ feet tall in Illinois accounts; garden accounts report taller growth, sometimes to 5 feet. Leave enough room behind lower plants for that variation.
Establishment & care
Self-sown seedlings may appear in open ground. Keep the ones that fit the planting and remove extras while they are small. Avoid a wet, poorly drained crown, especially through winter. The flower spikes suit repeated groups where their vertical shape can be seen against lower foliage.
Show / hide ▾Native range & C-value
| Wetland indicator — Corps Chicago 2017 table | Midwest: UPL; Northcentral/Northeast: UPL (USACE Chicago FQA 2017) |
|---|---|
| C-value — Chicago region, Flora 2017 | 0 |
| Chicago-region native — Flora 2017 | No |
| Native range — U.S. states | Colorado; Idaho; Illinois; Iowa; Minnesota; Montana; Nebraska; North Dakota; South Dakota; Washington; Wisconsin; Wyoming |
| County nativity | Not yet verified; occurrence records do not establish nativity. |
Show / hide ▾Plant communities & associatesNo verified list yet
A species-level list has not yet been verified for this listing.
Show / hide ▾Pollinators & wildlife
Bees & other flower visitors
USGS observations recorded the following insects visiting flowers of this plant in Minnesota. The records describe visits, without distinguishing pollen collection from nectar feeding or measuring successful pollination. They do not establish local occurrence, exclusive dependence, or a larval-host relationship.
Bees
- Apis mellifera (honey bee) — Minnesota; 2015, 2016.
- Bombus fervidus — Minnesota; 2016.
- Bombus impatiens — Minnesota; 2016.
- Bombus pensylvanicus — Minnesota; 2016.
- Bombus sp. (genus only) — Minnesota; 2016.
- Halictus ligatus — Minnesota; 2016.
- Lasioglossum albipenne — Minnesota; 2016.
- Lasioglossum anomalum — Minnesota; 2016.
- Melissodes trinodis — Minnesota; 2016.
Caterpillars & other plant-feeding insects
This plant has published caterpillar host records for the butterflies and moths listed below. These are larval feeding relationships, separate from adult nectar visits. The records span a North American literature compilation and do not establish that every insect occurs locally or uses only this plant.
Moths
- Herpetogramma aquilonalis
- Herpetogramma pertextalis — Bold-Feathered Grass Moth
Wildlife relationships
Bumblebees and other bees gather nectar or pollen from the flowers. Butterflies and other insects also visit as successive flowers open along the spikes.
Show / hide ▾Frequently asked questions
What are the ideal growing conditions for Anise Hyssop?
Agastache foeniculum performs best in full sun with dry-mesic (prairies, plains & savannas) conditions. It thrives in authentic regional soil types ranging from sandy loam to well-drained clay loams.
How do I germinate and establish Anise Hyssop from seed?
Seed of Agastache foeniculum has a germination code of C(30). For best results, sow seed in late fall/winter for natural outdoor freeze-thaw stratification, or cold-moist stratify in refrigeration for 30 to 60 days before spring indoor propagation.
Is Anise Hyssop deer and herbivore resistant?
Yes. Native plants adapted to Midwestern habitats naturally produce protective secondary compounds and fibrous textures that make them highly resistant to deer, rabbits, and other grazing herbivores.
When should I expect Anise Hyssop to emerge and bloom?
Established plants break dormancy in spring as soil temperatures warm, developing vigorous foliage before blooming in their seasonal window to provide vital nectar when native pollinators need it most.
Show / hide ▾Sources & ecological notes
Chicago-region assessment: Wilhelm & Rericha (2017), Flora of the Chicago Region, via Kenneth Johnson’s Universal FQA dataset (2018). Chicago-region native status is separate from U.S. nativity.
This species is native elsewhere in the United States; Flora of the Chicago Region (2017) records it as non-native in the Chicago region.
The state list describes native botanical distribution. It does not establish county nativity or occurrence, suitability for every site, or the origin of the plants and seeds offered here. An unlisted state is not proof of absence.
Range data: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; 4 June 2026 release, accessed 7 September 2026. © The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. CC BY 3.0; selected and reformatted. Kew cannot warrant the quality or accuracy of these data. This use has no Kew endorsement.
Appearance, growing conditions, and the relationships stated above: Illinois Wildflowers — John Hilty; NC State Extension Plant Toolbox. Selected botanical facts checked 7 September 2026; Natural Communities wrote the descriptions. Regional accounts and garden observations may differ in mature size and season.
Wetland codes are the separate Midwest and Northcentral/Northeast columns of the USACE Chicago FQA 2017 table, distributed under CC0. They describe that dataset, not a current regulatory determination. Family names retain the Flora-linked classification; newer taxonomic systems may group families differently.
The Corps table lists this species as native, while the Flora-linked Chicago assessment lists it as non-native. The Chicago-region assessment shown here retains the Flora-linked value.
State and county nativity: The state list uses WCVP records marked native, excluding introduced, extinct and doubtful records. County nativity has not yet been verified for this listing. Presence in a county or preserve does not establish nativity there.
Caterpillar host records: Shropshire, K.J. & Tallamy, D.W. (2025), Lepidoptera of North America, Supplement 1. Contains information from this database made available under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0). Natural Communities selected species-level records and screened source qualifications. The complete selection and transformation instructions for this page are available below under the same license.
Source: Otto, C., Bryant, R. & Euliss, N.H. Jr. (2020), The U.S. Geological Survey Pollinator Library Dataset, observations from 2012–2017. USGS public-domain federal data; selected and grouped by Natural Communities. This page uses 107 source records. Names retain the source identification level; “sp.” does not name a particular species. Some visits were observed without retaining specimens.
C-value source: Flora of the Chicago Region (2017), Universal FQA database 80. Matched source taxon: Agastache foeniculum. Exact.
Sources checked September 5, 2026. Regional assessments and growing observations apply to their stated settings. Unverified fields are omitted; missing information does not mean an ecological relationship is absent.
- Illinois Wildflowers — John Hilty. Limited botanical facts presented in Natural Communities’ own wording. Source-specific observations retain their stated scope; photographs, original descriptive prose and compiled relationship tables are excluded. Supports: Bloom Season; Drought Tolerance; Height; Opening botanical description; Root Architecture & Depth; Soil Moisture Range; Spread Habit; Sun Exposure; Sunlight Exposure.
- Universal FQA — Flora-linked Chicago database 80. Taxonomic names, family and regional nativity originally checked against Kenneth Johnson’s Flora-linked database 80 (2018), citing Wilhelm & Rericha (2017). Limited factual identification only; the C-value follows this Flora-linked database wherever an exact or documented synonym match is available. Supports: Alternate Common Names; Botanical Name; Chicago-region native status; Plant Family.
- USACE/ERDC fqadata — Chicago Region FQA 2017. Herman, B., Sliwinski, R. & Whitaker, S. (2017), Chicago Region FQA Calculator; distributed by USACE/ERDC in fqadata under CC0. Values may differ from Flora of the Chicago Region (2017). CC0 dedication. Supports: Wetland Indicator Status.
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Limited botanical facts presented in Natural Communities’ own wording. Source-specific observations retain their stated scope; photographs, original descriptive prose and compiled relationship tables are excluded. Supports: Alternate Common Names; Deer Resistance; USDA Hardiness Zones.
- Minnesota Wildflowers. Limited botanical facts presented in Natural Communities’ own wording. Source-specific observations retain their stated scope; photographs, original descriptive prose and compiled relationship tables are excluded. Supports: Primary Native Habitats.
Flora rating attribution: Kenneth Johnson (2018), Flora of the Chicago Region UFQA Database, following Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha (2017), Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. Individual rating facts are presented with original commentary; the calculator’s software license is not treated as a license for the underlying Flora publication.
Reusable research data
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Plant Shipping & Care
Plant Shipping & Care
We want to ensure that our customers get what they want, a native backyard oasis. To do that, we need to follow a few simple guidelines and give you some information and pointers to make sure you get your plants delivered in a healthy state.
As a reminder, you will receive an email to confirm your pickup or shipping window just before the plants are ready. See Order Fulfillment below for seasonal fulfillment windows.
Choices to Receive Your Plants & Accessories
- Retail - We only offer shipping & shipping is calculated at check out*
- We do not offer retail pick up
- Wholesale - Delivery is customized based on order size and location
- Wholesale - Pickup is free
Order Fulfilment - When Your Plants or Other Items Will Be Ready
We take orders all year long and seed is shipped all year, but we only provide the plants to you in certain fulfillment windows to ensure healthy plants.
Wholesale Orders
- Shipped or are Ready For Pick Up As Requested.
Retail & Website Orders
- Seed Typically Ships Out Within One Week Of Order All Year Long
- Typically, single species flats ship when ready, sometimes as soon as early to mid-April (depends on weather) through early-October.
- Mixed species kits are batched and shipped as indicated on the product page.
- If a plant order is placed while outside of the plant fulfillment window your plants will be reserved through your payment, however, the order will not be fulfilled and shipped until the following spring. We don't want to provide you plants when they won't be happy during the cold winter months.
- Early in the spring and later in the fall certain species may be dormant or partially dormant with brown leaves, however they will return to grow healthy next growing season.
- Your order may arrive in several different shipments.
- If certain plants within an order will not be available until a later date, we may choose to hold the full order until all are ready. In certain circumstances, we may choose to send them in two separate shipments
- Fulfillment is always dependent upon plant availability. We try our best but sometimes plants do not overwinter well and perish. If a plant is on back order you will receive an email indicating the estimated shipping date. If we can not provide the plant we will first notify you and give you an option of substitution or a refund of that individual species.
- Plants are typically only packaged and shipped on Mondays to ensure they do not sit in the harsh delivery facility for extended periods of time over the weekend. You will receive a confirmation email once your delivery has been shipped and to estimate your delivery date.
- Apparel & accessories are ready typically within one to two weeks. See product page for holiday shipping.
Where We Ship
What to Expect When Receiving Your Delivery
- Your plants will be packaged with the utmost care
- We will need to cut back certain plants prior to shipping. This seems counter-intuitive, however, the fewer leaves the less water the plants can lose during shipping, resulting in healthier plants for you. This also enables the plants to fit within the protective packaging and shipped safely.
Shipments
- Larger plant shipments will look similar to the picture below with a tray of your plants and a cardboard box to protect them during shipping.
What to Do With Your Plants After Receiving Your Delivery
- Unpack your order IMMEDIATELY
- Inspect for damage and report any issues immediately to Natives@NaturalCommunities.net
- Water your plants
- Install your plants as quickly as possible and water the entire garden area thoroughly
- If you cannot install your plants immediately
- Some plants may not be in a container, put them into some kind of a container such as a paper cup with loose soil until installation
- Make sure each plant is receiving the appropriate amount of light.
- Continue to water daily each morning and possibly again in the afternoon
- No additional fertilizer is needed
Seed Shipping & Care
Seed Shipping & Care
There is a minimum order requirement of $30 for each seed species. Seed ships all year and typically ships within a week of an order being placed.
We have attempted to put together some basic information regarding native seed installation, establishment, and maintenance. We hope you find it helpful. If you need further assistance on native seed establishment, please schedule a free consolation call here.
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Whether you're fighting severe erosion, replacing invasive species, designing a pollinator haven, or seeding large acreage, choosing the wrong species wastes time and money. Talk 1-on-1 with a restoration ecologist to map out the exact species, plug counts, or seed mixes for your soil and goals. Book a consultation and get all or a portion credited directly back to your order.