Hailing from South Africa, agapanthus can be evergreen or deciduous; the deciduous varieties are the most hardy in this country. The evergreen varieties grow in the southern Cape in milder areas, so will need frost protection in the UK – or they can be grown in pots and brought inside.
Recommended cultivars
There are hundreds of agapanthus to choose from, in shades ranging from navy to lavender to white, and heights from 30cm to over a metre. Pine Cottage Plants in Devon (now acquired by Bowdens), which held a National Collection of agapanthus, introduced some of the best new varieties, including ‘Northern Star’ and ‘Eggesford Sky’ – both deciduous varieties growing to about 1 metre. ‘Northern Star’ has pale blue, starry flowers with a darker blue central stripe, and distinctive strap-like leaves with dark blue bases, while ‘Eggesford Sky’ has delicate lilac-blue flowers. One of the darkest-flowering agapanthus is ‘Black Magic’ (80cm), with purplish-black blooms. The florets are long and slightly pendulous. If you are after an ice-white, ‘Arctic Star’ (75cm) has showy clusters of white flowers against semi-evergreen leaves. The tiny white ‘Double Diamond’ (25–30cm) is ideal for a small container.
How to grow agapanthus
If you are growing agapanthus for the first time and buying a small specimen, try keeping it in a pot for a year or two before planting it out in the border, as it will flower better when its roots are restricted. Having said that, if the plant becomes too pot-bound with the roots visibly bursting out, flowering will dwindle, so it is a balancing act. Once the roots have bulked up in the pot for a year or two, they can be planted out, or if you want to plant it straight out, you could take the bottom out of a pot and sink it into the soil. All agapanthus need an open, sunny position and well-drained soil, and will benefit from a high-potash liquid feed during the growing season if they are being grown in containers (a high nitrogen feed should be avoided as it promotes leaf growth instead of flower). Although most deciduous agapanthus are hardy, it is worth protecting the crown of the plant in winter, especially during a very cold snap. This can be done by mulching with straw, compost or bark chips, or by bringing the pot into a greenhouse.
This story originally appeared on House & Garden UK.
