Agastache ‘Pink Pearl’ Is an Easy-to-Grow Perennial for Summer Flowers
Agastache ‘Pink Pearl’ stands up to high heat and drought, providing months of color with its pollinator-friendly flower spikes. This disease-resistant perennial also puts up with humidity.
Agastache 'Pink Pearl' lends color to the garden throughout summer despite heat and drought. This compact hummingbird mint creates a dense stand of pollinator-friendly light pink flowers set off by salmon pink buds.
I've struggled with agastache in my New England garden, due to summer rain, humidity, partial shade and winter precipitation. However, 'Pink Pearl' has remained healthy and floriferous. To ensure good drainage, I planted mine on a slope and top dressed with gravel before the winter. I also took care that no deciduous leaves gathered on top of these plants in the fall. My three plants bloom well despite several hours of shade from nearby dogwood and maple trees; I think their growth and flower spikes would be slightly more dense with more sun, but they still look great.
Common name: 'Pink Pearl' hummingbird mint
Botanical name: Agastache 'Pink Pearl'
Origin: 'Pink Pearl' is a hybrid of different Agastache species. It was introduced in 2022 by Terra Nova Nurseries. Most agastaches are native to hot, dry regions of North America, including the western and southwestern United States.
Related: Check out two other awesome agastache: 'Queen Nectarine' and 'Mango Tango'.
Flowers: Beginning in late spring, pale pink flowers open from salmon-colored buds that line upright stalks. Individual flowers open in succession, creating a two-toned effect over time. Flowering can last throughout the summer.
Foliage: Medium green; minty scent; remains clean, with resistance to downy mildew. Fragrance may provide protection from deer and rabbits.
Size and habit: The foliage creates an upright mound 8 to 10 inches tall, with the flower spikes doubling that height. The width of one plant is about 16 inches.
Growing Agastache 'Pink Pearl'
Exposure: Full sun for best habit and heaviest bloom; tolerates part shade
How to grow it: Agastache 'Pink Pearl' requires well-drained soil, but it is otherwise not picky about its conditions. It will grow and bloom in full sun or part shade, but for the heaviest flowering and most compact habit provide full sun. Once established it is very drought tolerant. That said, regular rain or hand watering won't hurt it as long as the drainage is sharp. Removing spent flower spikes will bolster its continued bloom. Make sure any agastache does not sit wet over the winter. USDA Zones 6–10.
Image credit: Meghan Shinn
