In this blog we explore the wonderful agapanthus.
Native to South Africa, these beautiful perennial plants can be either evergreen or deciduous. Take care with the evergreen varieties as they are less hardy and will need winter protection.
Agapanthus like to be in the sunshine in a nice open position. We only sell them in big pots, which means that they will already have a good root system; this means that you can plant them into the ground or into larger pots and containers. If you buy an agapanthus in a small form, we always recommend keeping them in pots until the roots bulk up before planting them into the ground. It’s a bit of a myth that they prefer to be in pots; this is only until the roots have matured. If you constrict them too much, you will get no flowers on the plant.
There are a huge variety of agapanthus available ranging in heights from 30cm to well over 1m. The flowers are available from shades of white to lavender to navy blue and almost black. The flowers always take on the same large spherical shape, which sway in the wind above the strappy foliage. They have a lovely long flowering period from mid-summer to early autumn.
Bees – especially bumble bees – love the agapanthus and will be attracted to them all summer.
You can split established clumps in spring to give you more plants and you can also grow from seed. However, the resulting plants will be different from their parents so it’s always a nice surprise to see what you get from the seedlings! Seedlings do not produce flowers for 2-3 years.
We tend to leave the flower heads on until the seeds develop, which is in late autumn.
Prior to the onset of winter, trim back the agapanthus flower heads and remove any spent leaves. If leaving outside, cover with a generous mulch or bark chip. We move all our potted varieties under cover. During this dormant period, they will not require much water; just remember to give them the odd splash so they don’t dry out completely.