Latest Prices for Agastache Seeds and a Detailed Guide to Growing Them

Agastache, also known as Hexiang, Canggao, and Shanhuixiang, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Agastache in the Lamiaceae family. It is widely distributed across China, with main production areas in Sichuan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, Guangdong, and other places. Used medicinally, it has effects such as resolving dampness and invigorating the spleen, eliminating turbidity and harmonizing the middle, and relieving summer heat and promoting sweating. Now let us take a look together at the price of Agastache seeds and how to grow them!

How much does one jin of Agastache seeds cost?

The price of Agastache seeds is about 150 to 180 yuan per jin, but prices vary greatly depending on seed quality, variety, place of origin, and the market. Agastache is mostly propagated by seed. Seeds remain viable for 2 to 4 years, so seeds from the previous year can be sown. Seed germination requires light conditions, the optimum germination temperature is 18 to 22°C, and germination takes 7 to 10 days. Sown in the current year, harvested in the current year, it is called new Agastache, with many leaves and good leaf quality. In production, it can also be propagated by perennial roots (old Agastache).

Sowing Methods for Agastache Seeds

1. Sowing time: In the north, Agastache is sown in spring and raised as seedlings in mid-to-late April. Before sowing, apply 2.5 to 3 kg of decomposed human and livestock manure water per square meter to the seedbed, moisten the bed surface as base fertilizer, and sow after leveling and raking fine.

2. Sowing method: Agastache can be broadcast or drilled in rows, at 2 to 4 grams per square meter, with 500 to 800 grams of seed used per mu of field. Finally, cover the bed surface with plastic film to keep warm and retain moisture.

① Broadcasting: Mix the seeds with fine sand or plant ash, evenly scatter them on the bed surface, gently pat the bed surface with a thin board so that the seeds make close contact with the bed surface, and cover with 1 cm of soil.

② Drilling: Along the bed, open shallow furrows at a row spacing of 25 to 30 cm, with a furrow depth of 1 to 1.5 cm, water thoroughly, mix the seeds with fine sand and evenly scatter them into the furrows, cover with 1 cm of soil, and press lightly.

How to Grow Agastache

1. Thinning and replanting: After sowing Agastache, when the temperature is 13 to 18°C and soil moisture is suitable, seedlings emerge in 10 to 12 days. When the seedlings are 10 to 12 cm tall, thin them, removing the weak and keeping the strong. For drilling, final thinning can be done at a plant spacing of 10 to 12 cm, with the two rows staggered. For hole sowing, keep 3 to 4 strong seedlings per hole.

2. Timely transplanting: When Agastache seedlings are 12 to 15 cm tall and have 4 to 6 true leaves, transplant them at a plant spacing of 25 cm and row spacing of 40 cm, choosing a cloudy day and watering with dilute manure water. Plant 6,000 to 7,000 plants per mu, and after transplanting water thoroughly to settle the roots. If missing plants are found after they survive, replant on a cloudy day.

3. Topdressing management: For the first topdressing of Agastache, after loosening the soil when the seedlings are 3 cm tall, apply 1.5 to 2 kg of decomposed dilute human and livestock manure water per square meter. After that, apply it when the seedlings are 7 to 10 cm, 15 to 20 cm, and 25 to 30 cm tall respectively. Water after fertilizing, and stop topdressing after the rows close.

4. Drainage and drought resistance: Agastache prefers a slightly moist soil environment. After sowing and transplanting, if there is drought without rain, attention should be paid to timely watering (irrigation) to resist drought and protect the seedlings. In rainy weather and after irrigation, timely clear the ditches and drain water to prevent waterlogging, which can cause root rot.

5. Timely harvesting: Agastache is harvested by picking tender stems and leaves and young seedlings from April to June, or at full bloom from July to August. Choose a sunny day and cut it level with the ground, then sun-dry, bake-dry, or shade-dry it. The yield is 4,500 to 7,500 kg per hectare. The best quality is green stems and branches, dry, with many leaves and a rich aroma.

Disease Control in Agastache

1. Root rot

[Damage] It mostly occurs in the rainy summer season. Diseased plants rot from the roots and rhizomes, gradually spreading to the aboveground parts, causing the cortex to turn brown, and finally withering and dying.

[Control] Pull out diseased plants and burn them in a centralized manner, then sprinkle lime into the disease holes for disinfection, or drench the disease holes with 50% thiophanate-methyl 800-fold solution or 50% carbendazim 500-fold solution.

2. Fusarium wilt

[Damage] It occurs from mid-June to early July. At first, the leaves and leaf tips of diseased plants droop and appear green-wilted, and finally the roots rot and the whole plant dies.

[Control] In the early stage of the disease, pull out diseased plants and drench the disease holes and the roots of nearby plants with 50% carbendazim 500-fold solution, or 50% thiophanate-methyl 800-fold solution, or 40% carbendazim suspension concentrate 500-fold solution to prevent spread.

3. Angular leaf spot

[Damage] It damages leaves and occurs in the rainy season. At first, water-soaked lesions appear, which later gradually expand into angular brown lesions. In severe cases, the leaves dry up and fall off, causing reduced yield.

[Control] In the early stage of the disease, spray with 1:1.5:120 Bordeaux mixture, or 72% agricultural streptomycin 1000-fold solution, or 77% Kocide 500-fold solution for control, spraying once every 7 to 10 days for 2 to 3 consecutive sprays.

4. Brown spot

[Damage] It damages leaves. From May to June, nearly round lesions form on the leaf surface, light brown in the middle, dark brown at the edges, and with light black mold-like growth, serious in humid rainy seasons.

[Control] Remove diseased leaves and burn them, and spray with 1:1:120 Bordeaux mixture, or 64% oxadixyl wettable powder 500-fold solution, or 58% metalaxyl-mancozeb 500-fold solution for control.

5. Leaf spot blotch

[Damage] Lesions on both sides of the leaves are polygonal, initially 1 to 3 mm in diameter, dark brown, and the leaf color turns yellow. In severe cases, the lesions merge and the leaves wither and die.

[Control] In the early stage of the disease, spray 50% Ridomil 1000-fold solution once every 7 days for 2 to 3 consecutive sprays.

6. Aphids

[Damage] Adults and nymphs gather on tender shoots and young leaves to cause damage, making plants grow poorly and unable to normally produce new buds and new leaves.

[Control] Spray with 10% imidacloprid wettable powder 1000-fold solution, or 50% pirimicarb wettable powder 2000-fold solution, or 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate 1500-fold solution. Stop applying half a month before harvest to avoid leaving toxic residues.

7. Red spider mites

[Damage] Serious occurrence in high-temperature and low-humidity seasons from June to August. Affected parts first show small yellow-white spots, gradually becoming large yellow-brown scorched spots, and finally the entire leaf turns yellow and falls off.

[Control] Spray with Chongman Like 1500-fold solution, or 40% Supracide, or 1.8% abamectin 3000-fold solution.

8. Silver-striped leaf moth

[Damage] The silver-striped leaf moth uses its larvae to bite leaves into holes or notches. The larvae hide on the underside of leaves during the day and mostly feed on the leaf surface at night and on cloudy days.

[Control] Spray with 90% crystalline trichlorfon 1000-fold solution, or 25% chlordimeform aqueous solution 300 to 350-fold solution.

9. Leaf roller

[Damage] The leaf roller uses its larvae to spin silk and roll leaves on young buds and young leaves, hiding inside and chewing the leaves.

[Control] Spray the leaf surface with trichlorfon 300 to 400-fold solution.