Korean Mint Seeds (Agastache rugosa) Fragrant herb with purple flower spikes and mint-anise flavor; valued for teas, pollinator gardens, and traditional herbal use

Minimum: 100+ seeds

Korean Mint — The Only Asian Agastache, and One of the Most Useful Fragrant Herbs You Can Grow From Seed

Most gardeners know Anise Hyssop. Far fewer know its only Asian relative, the herb cultivated across Korea, China, and Japan for centuries longer than Western gardeners have been growing any Agastache at all. Korean Mint carries the same licorice-mint fragrance and tall purple flower spikes, but brings its own culinary identity, a deep history in East Asian herbal tradition, and a flavor profile sitting somewhere between mint, anise, and oregano. It blooms from midsummer into fall, attracts bees and butterflies throughout, and asks almost nothing of the gardener once established.

Who Grows Korean Mint?

Herb gardeners building a fragrant kitchen garden with plants that do real culinary work. Tea growers who want fresh or dried leaves that steep into an anise-mint infusion. Cooks who use Korean and East Asian ingredients and want the genuine herb. Pollinator gardeners who need a mid-to-late season nectar source bridging the gap between early-season and fall-blooming plants. And anyone who wants a fast-establishing, low-maintenance perennial that earns its space every year.

What This Plant Actually Is

Agastache rugosa, the only non-American member of the Agastache genus, native to Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Known as huo xiang in Chinese traditional medicine, listed among the 50 fundamental medicinal herbs. Common names include Korean Hyssop, Blue Licorice, Indian Mint, and Wrinkled Giant Hyssop.

Plants reach 3 to 4 feet tall in upright bushy clumps with square stems typical of the mint family. Leaves are deep green, ovate, toothed, and fragrant when bruised, releasing a scent blending mint, anise, and oregano. Flowers are violet-blue to purple in dense terminal spikes 2 to 4 inches long blooming mid-summer through early fall. Unlike true mint, Korean Mint forms clumps rather than spreading. Deer and rabbit resistant, self-fertile, self-seeds moderately.

In the Kitchen

• Herbal Tea: Fresh or dried leaves brewed alone or with other herbs make a soothing anise-mint infusion. One of the plant's primary culinary uses across East Asia.
• Salads: Young leaves and flowers added fresh to green salads or grain bowls contribute a distinctive peppery-anise note.
• Tarragon Substitute: Dried leaves used in place of French tarragon in sauces, vinaigrettes, and compound butters.
• Korean Cooking: Leaves and young shoots used in traditional dishes including buchimgae (Korean savory pancakes) and as a seasoning in soups and stews.
• Cut Flower and Garnish: Upright purple spikes work well in fresh arrangements and as a fragrant garnish for plated dishes.

In the Herbal Tradition

Korean Mint is one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, used in the classical formula Huo Xiang Zheng Qi San for digestive complaints, nausea, and poor appetite. In Korean traditional medicine, used for anxiety, fever, and respiratory complaints. Note: this reflects historical use only.

Growing Korean Mint From Seed

• Direct Sow: After last frost on prepared soil surface. Seeds are tiny; press lightly into soil without covering.
• Starting Indoors: 6 to 8 weeks before last frost. Surface sow or cover lightly. Bottom heat at 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit aids germination.
• Germination Time: 10 to 21 days at 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Sunlight: Full sun to part shade. Best flowering and fragrance in full sun.
• Soil: Average to moderately fertile, well-draining. Tolerates sandy and lean soils. Does not like wet feet.
• Watering: Regular moisture during establishment. Drought tolerant once established.
• Spacing: 18 to 24 inches apart.
• Height: 3 to 4 feet at maturity.
• Wildlife: Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Deer and rabbit resistant.
• Hardiness: Zones 5 to 9. Short-lived perennial that self-seeds reliably.
• Harvest: Cut leaves any time; cut flower stems for drying just as flowers begin to open.

Before You Close This Page

The only Asian Agastache, with centuries of culinary and herbal use behind it. Fragrant leaves that brew into tea, sub for tarragon, and season Korean pancakes. Tall purple flower spikes that feed pollinators from midsummer into fall. Easy from seed, low-maintenance once established, deer resistant. Open-pollinated seeds, limited availability. Grow it once and it tends to stay.