Plant Guide

Other Names:  Jewel Of The Sierra Madre, Orange Hummingbird Mint

Description:

This variety produces glorious fragrant spikes of fiery orange flowers; strong, compact form is great in borders and containers; for the best performance plant in fertile, well-drained soil in full sun

Ornamental Features

Tango Hyssop features airy spikes of lightly-scented orange tubular flowers rising above the foliage from mid summer to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive fragrant narrow leaves remain grayish green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Tango Hyssop is an open herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Tango Hyssop is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Herb Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Tango Hyssop will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity extending to 14 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 10 inches. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 6 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, alkaline soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Tango Hyssop is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.