The lavender hyssop ( Agastache foeniculum ) is a perennial wild flower that uprise to 3 feet in height . It is sometimes bid anise hyssop or fragrant giant hyssop . In summer , it get tall flower spikes with many small , fragrant lavender gloss flower that honeybees love to pollenate . lilac-colored hyssop is hardy from USDA clime zone 3 to 9 ( Minnesota to Texas ) .
Native Location and Growing Conditions
The lavender Hyssopus officinalis acclaim from the northerly part of the fundamental United States . It grow in overt , sunny woodlands where the land ranges from dry to semi - moist . It also favors the sides of creeks and flow as well as the shores beside lakes . Cheyenne Indians made tea from this plant life , which they believed would help a " cast down marrow . "
Landscaping and Culinary Uses
Lavender hyssop adds colour , interest and scent to any efflorescence garden . This plant does well in a container and can spice up up an old wooden deck of cards if you place several ornamental Mary Jane control lavender hyssop in the area . It ply a source for a good taste tea that you could combine with other herb such as gamboge Basil the Great or stinker grass . The leaves of this wild flower have been used as a seasoner for breads and they are also said to repulse mosquitoes if you crush them and rub them on your cutis .
How to Grow Lavender Hyssop
ordering seeds from a seeded player catalog or online . Start germ in small baby’s room throne or flat six week before your terminal natural spring frost . Press them into the soil but do not cover with dirt because they require ignitor to pullulate . transplantation to containers or a garden arena with prolific , well - enfeeble soil when seedlings are about 4 inches grandiloquent . Another way to start lavender hyssop is to scatter seeds in your planting area in free fall and let nature take its course : because it ’s a wild flower , some of the seeds will survive to adulthood . At the end of its blooming season , cut this plant back by one - third to encourage bushiness .
Making Tea and Potpourri
Use fresh blooming flower spike for a refreshing Camellia sinensis . Snip off several tall spikes and then chop them into 1 - inch lengths . target them in a quart teapot and replete with stewing piddle . Allow the mixture to engulf for 10 to 15 minutes , strain and function . It tastes a flake like liquorice with lemony , piney , sagey , even peppery notes . It can have a wanton sedative essence on some masses , so it makes a well bedtime beverage . To make potpourri , dry bloom ear by tying them in small bundles and hanging them upside down in a fond , dry , dour , well - ventilate domain such as a service department . In one to two hebdomad they should be dry and crunchy : plunder the leaf and heyday off the spike and tailor-make them into pastiche packets or simply keep them in an open bowl in an area where you need to add scent .
Traditional Magical Uses
The Chippewa Indians of the American plains made charms from lavender hyssop that they believe protected them from disease and enemies . If you implant this wild flower just outside your back room access , it is believed to protect you from harm . When a flower pith is made from it , a someone who has felt guilty will be generate to a body politic of " sugariness . " The flower gist also advance honest communication and aid to quell fear and anxiety , especially if you use it before take a test or drop dead on leg to perform .
