Plantspeople’s favourites

Top plant experts tell us about the plants they are most excited to grow in 2019

We are irresistibly drawn to agastache for their bold, nectar-rich flower spikes, architectural seedheads and long flowering season. Some are not reliably hardy, but trial and error has led us to find some tough and persistent cultivars, of which Agastache ‘Kolibri’ is our favourite. It is a beautiful soft apricot orange – the sort of colour you would expect to belong to a plant of tender constitution, and yet it sailed through the cold harsh winter of 2017/18. The trick is to give it space. Combine with Salix purpurea ‘Nancy Saunders’, Dahlia ‘Cornel Brons’ and Panicum ‘Frosted Explosion’ for a winning combination.

Height 90cm. Origin Brian Kabbes Nursery, the Netherlands. Conditions A sunny spot with reasonable drainage. Hardiness USDA 7a-10a†. Season of interest July to October.