Mango Tango Anise Hyssop

Light Needs

Full Sun

(At Least 6 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

16-18 Inches

Mature Spread

14-16 Inches

Growing Zones

6 to 9

If you are looking for a sensory experience that is a flowering powerhouse from summer to fall, check out Mango Tango Anise Hyssop. The plants keep sending up spires in mouth-watering colors for months, atop delicate foliage that releases a minty fragrance when handled. Mango Tango was selected for its easy-to-use compact habit that is covered in blooms. Your neighbors, the bees, hummingbirds, and the butterflies will all thank you. The only one who may not thank you so quickly is your water company, since this is a very drought-tolerant plant, well-adapted to sunny containers, rock gardens, prairie plantings, street plantings and other hardscrabble spots. It also makes a nice cut or dried flower, so another great perennial for the cutting garden.

Mango Tango Anise hyssop is a hybrid of the Agastache family. In case you are wondering: you won’t get points off if you pronounce it “aga-stash”, but the botanically accepted pronunciation is “agasta-kee”. It’s in the mint family, but does not spread the way a true mint does – you just get that lovely fragrance. It gets about 18 inches tall, and about ¾ of the plant blooms from mid-summer through fall. The blooms themselves are a sumptuous combination of orange, pink and red, from the contrasting rose calyxes and orange flowers, which translates to a yummy halo of mango. On the lighter side of the spectrum, it looks amazing with blue, gray, or lime foliage, from dianthus, senecio, or carex, and on the darker side with plummy euphorbia or ajuga. They make beautiful thrillers in summer containers, and make your heart sing massed in the garden.

Mango Tango Anise Hyssop Care

Given excellent drainage, this is one of the easiest perennials you can grow (might be that mint family gene again). They are hardy from zones 6 through 9. In areas with wet winters, take extra care that the location drains well and a gravel mulch can help repel winter rains; also avoid cutting back fall stems until new growth emerges in spring. It’s both heat- and drought-tolerant, and can handle both neutral to alkaline soil.

Mango Tango Anise Hyssop prefers less fertilizer, so go light, perhaps just some slow-release fertilizer in containers. In containers, make sure there is good drainage in the planter and that the soil mix is not too heavy.

Mango Tango Anise Hyssop Spacing

These plants are light in structure, but look their best with a little elbow room to show off their graceful form – a spacing of 14 to 16 inches is recommended.