4 Best Agastache Hummingbird Mint | Stop Killing Hummingbird

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The one that shows up looking like you bought it from a local nursery — consistently healthy packaging makes the difference.

This #1 container plant reaches 3 feet tall and produces deep blue flower spikes from July to September that hummingbirds and butterflies visit regularly. It weighs 3.5 pounds, versus the 8.1-pound gallon pot from Hirt’s Gardens, yet still gives you an established root system that handles transplant shock well. The fragrant green foliage stays compact and bushy in well-drained soil on the average to dry side. Reviewers consistently report “excellent packaging with oversized box and protective wrapping” — one reviewer noted the plant arrived “very healthy with moist soil,” and another said it “looks just as good as those from a local nursery.” Unlike the Blue Fortune gallon pot where some buyers received a bent plant, this seller’s protective wrapping earns steady praise. Perennial Farm Marketplace says it cannot ship to AK, AS, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, and HI.

The main trade-off: this is not a host plant for monarch butterflies, as one buyer pointed out. If you specifically want a milkweed substitute, skip this. For healthy agastache that survives shipping intact, this is the most reliable choice.

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The plant you want next to your patio chair where you can brush its leaves and catch the peppermint-lemon scent.

When you crush or brush against the foliage, it releases a peppermint-lemon scent that makes sitting near the garden even better. This pint-pot version grows fast up to 18 inches tall and produces purple-blue flowers from July to September, attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Greenwood Nursery packs their potted plants by sleeving them in craft paper to protect the foliage and keep the soil inside the pot, then stabilizes everything in fitted corrugated boxes with crunched craft paper and air pillows. Owners mention mixed results: one said the plant “was packed well and in great shape” and bloomed within weeks, while another noted dirt had come out of the pot during shipping. Greenwood offers a 14-day guarantee from delivery, giving you a safety net. Compared to the starter plant from Generic that arrives in a shot-glass pot, this pint pot gives you a more established start.

The trade-off is that a pint pot holds a younger plant than the #1 container or gallon pot options, so it needs more careful watering and sun attention when you first plant it. But if fragrance and watching pollinators are your priority, the peppermint-lemon payoff is worth it.

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The heaviest option — 8.1 pounds of soil and roots for immediate garden impact, but inconsistent packaging is the real gamble.

A full gallon pot gives you the largest root ball of any plant on this list. That means faster establishment once you put it in the ground. This variety prefers part sun, thrives in Zones 5 through 9, and has a long flowering time that keeps hummingbirds coming back. At 8.1 pounds versus the Perennial Farm Marketplace plant at 3.5 pounds, it offers more root-to-soil mass that can handle drier spells between waterings. The root volume is the draw here. Buyers are split on shipping: several report the plant arrived “in good health and took off like a rocket,” with one saying it was “somewhat larger than I expected.” Another customer wrote that the “plant arrived bent in half with broken stems and lost blossoms” because the box was too short. The smell when healthy earns praise — one buyer mentioned it “smells terrific.”

The deciding factor is packaging. If you get a well-packed shipment, you end up with the most established plant of the group. But the inconsistent packing makes this a gamble compared to the Perennial Farm Marketplace option, which gets consistent praise for its protective wrapping.

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The only salmon-pink agastache on this list — and the only one buyers regularly describe as arriving in “shot glass size” pots.

This starter plant reaches up to 4 feet tall with salmon-pink blooms in zones 5 through 9, prefers full sun and sandy soil, and needs moderate watering. The genetics are fine. The problem is the size and survival rate. One buyer summed it up: “Product came in a shot glass size pot.” That tiny pot gives you very little root mass, and the reviews back up the risk. Multiple buyers reported dead plants, with one saying “despite my efforts to revive the plant, it just wasn’t viable.” Another ordered three and only two survived. A 2-star review simply said “So small…didnt grow.” If you are an experienced gardener who wants to nurse a tiny starter through its first season, this could work. For anyone wanting a reliable addition to their pollinator garden, the survival odds here are worse than any larger-potted option above.

The one advantage is the salmon-pink color — the other three picks all have blue or violet flowers, so this is the only option for a softer, warmer tone in your garden. You are trading bloom color for a significantly higher chance of receiving a dead plant.