Zone 7b and I have so many agastache that I'm pretty reckless with them. I do plant them in September and early October. A few weeks ago, I moved a 4 foot tall, in bloom agastache 'Coronado'. It didn't skip a beat other than a few wilted leaves in the afternoon that bounced back each morning. Needs to be shaded in the hottest part of the day during transplanting and I waited until cloudy days/rain was in the forecast to minimize my tending it with watering. I have 'Summer Glow' and wouldn't hesitate to move it in your zone. The ones that I have were moved twice last year and once this year! Be careful cutting back agastaches after July. Sometimes, they are okay, other times not. The bottlebrush blooms such as 'Blue Fortune', 'Golden Jubilee', 'Purple Haze', 'Cotton Candy' and 'Black Adder' do well with deadheading down to the NEXT 1 or 2 leaf joints. Cut lower and the whole plant can die (unless there is new basal foliage). More on that... On the western types especially, wait until you see NEW BASAL foliage. You can cut back to the basal foliage as long as it is done no later than end of July (in my zone). This is what I do in the spring and sometimes once more if I think the individual plant really will benefit from it. Let the stems stand over the winter on all varieties (though deadheading just the blooms and not the stems seems to be okay). If you're pushing the cold zone on a variety, place flat rocks around the base of the plants that can heat up on sunny winter days. All that said - some will be short-lived. Cameron From more of my agastache

On propagating Harison's Yellow - I actually find it very easy to propogate HY from softwood cuttings during the summer (new growth). Get about 6-8" new growth, strip off all but the top couple of leaf nodes, dip cutting in rooting hormone, place cuttings en masse in a LARGE pot of 1/2 and 1/2 seedstarting mix/perlite. Place pot outside in a spot that is always shaded (under a tree, north side of house, etc), and water at least daily. Do NOT cover the pot with plastic or anything - just keep it watered. I usually have 12-18 cuttings of one variety in each large pot. As soon as good topgrowth starts (6-8 weeks or so), carefully remove individual rooted cuttings and place them in their own 1 gal pot. Starting roses from softwood cuttings outside in a big pot guarantees almost 100% success for me - trying to root them the "proper" way in a plastic bag absolutely does not work for me - I end up with mushy brown cuttings that died. High Country Roses is a great rose nursery! I already have my order placed for this year. Nancy

The differences in the number of blooms, colored vs non-colored bracts, and flower color intensity between mohavemaria and sarahbn's S. pachyphyllas can be explained by the climate differences I explained to ccroulet. By growing this desert sage in a subtropical climate, the resources that would be dedicated to the brighter colors are going into making the plant grow at night. Also, to ccroulet, I had a conversation with my friend John and the sage growing to the east of Temecula ia clevelandii. He told me of some nice forms of pachyphylla that he found in Kennedy Meadow to the northwest of Pearsonville, Inyo County, California. He also showed me where to find Salvia funerea in Titus Canyon, by following the road from Beatty, Nevada, by the old ghost town of Rhyolite, east into the canyon (you can only go from east to west into California) where it dumps down onto North Highway in Death Valley. Then there was the collection site for Salvia greatae north off of Bradshaw Road on the northwest border of the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, which is just east of the Salton Sea.

A lot of people in my area are doing the so called "hcg diet". Most of them are losing weight too. The thing is that they aren't even taking hcg. They are taking "homeopathic hcg drops", which by the very definition of homeopathic have absolutely no active ingredient. So it's really just a placebo. The reason that they are losing weight is because they are only eating 500 calories a day. Severe calorie restriction will work for anyone. Try it. Here is a link that might be useful: HCG diet info