The last Saturday in August was one of those rare cool summer days. The temperature didn’t break 90F, and I was actually able to stay in one shirt instead of sweating through three or four. It was the first hint of fall, albeit faint and barely whispered by the clouds that kept the sun off my back and at times drizzled enough rain to wet the ground. There’s something about petrichor mixing with the bleached foliage of summer that smells like autumn.
Fall plants are responding to the shift in the season. The blackberry floricanes that were loaded mere months ago are now withered, and the cool day was an opportune time to clear them. My first Lycoris radiata emerged quite early this week, and nearby, fall perennials like Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘White Lovely’ and Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ are starting to flower like they do every year around this time.
A new perennial that I’ve added to my garden that begins to enchant me in these late days of summer is Hyptis alata or clustered bushmint. My genetics came from Mark Tietz of Wildscapes LLC in east Texas, but my introduction to the species was driving to Houston years ago. I can’t quite remember the reason for the trip, but I do remember seeing these little cream-colored balls on stems rising from the highway ditches. It looked like someone had stuck cake pops on a stem.
Hyptis alata is a species that hugs the coastal plain. It was quite at home in this cajun prairie in Eunice, Louisiana a few years back.
A few Octobers ago, I again encountered Hyptis alata in the cajun prairie in Eunice, LA . It was here that I realized the orbs were a great contrast to the linear grasses. So, when Mark gave me a couple plants, I already had an idea of what to expect from this species.
Hyptis remind me of the orbs of Eryngium. However, instead of white balls of flowers concentrated at the top, a single stem of Hyptis alata sports a dozen or more flower clusters held oppositely a few inches from the stem as it rises in the garden. And, with 20 to 30 stems, the layering of these dots is like a pointillism painting.
As the flower clusters continue to grow in size, they begin to resemble mini-cake pops.
I like the contrast of the white Hyptis alata with the black seedheads of Baptisia alba.
This native has an overall white appearance in the garden, which is welcome at a time when blacks and browns are begin to accumulate. The white color comes from the combination of the spotted white flowers, the light green sepals that remain after the flower falls, and hazy-colored bracts under the flower cluster. Once flowering finishes in another month or so, the orbs will turn more green and then fade to a dark umber. In this state I will enjoy Hyptis through winter until spring cutback.
Hyptis alata looks lovely in the winter. The seed heads are quite persistent.
Now that I’ve had it for a few seasons, I’ve learned to cut it to the ground in mid-spring to help delay the onset of flowers and keep the height in check. It can flop from the breezy rains we get in autumn. I’ve also learned that it attracts pollinators a plenty. I’m amazed that my photos don’t show any of the black wasps that go nuts over this plant. I usually have 5 to 10 buzzing it.
Some of you may be wondering about hardiness. This gulf coast species is a bit frost sensitive. This past spring after it had emerged we had a night that dipped below freezing. A day later the foliage looked a bit burned while all the other perennials in the bed remained untouched. Thus, I’m not sure how well it would overwinter further north. It can be a bit seedy, which increases its chances of returning, but in my garden keeping the soil covered with vegetation seems to prevent most from germinating. It’s only when there is bare soil that they find a start, and they are easily weeded out.
Yes, there’s a hint of autumn in seeing Hyptis alata in flower. It won’t be long now.