Find time to grow Agapanthus

Agapanthus originate in South Africa, and out there they grow en masse like weeds on the road sides.

Over here in the Uk it is a different story, they have to survive our cold winters and make do with limited sunshine during our English summers.  If treated correctly though they can thrive in our gardens and given a little winter care they can produce stunning displays for us throughout the summer.

Agapanthus Flowers

The flowers are either white or all the different hues of blue you can imagine through into purples.

You have fresh, tall, majestic, white flowers of: Arctic Star, Bridal Bouquet  & Snow Cloud and the delightful compact growing Double Diamond with pretty double white flowers on short stems of 30 cm tall, perfect for patio pots or planted in the front of borders.

There is ‘Midnight Sky’, a rich dark blue flower on 50cm tall flowering stems. ‘Charlotte’ with her beautiful bright blue prolific flowers, they really make a stunning statement in the garden.  Megan’s Mauve has pretty light mauve flowers, each petal has a dark mauve stripe on it.

Then for something really special there is “Fireworks” a bicoloured flower of dark violet blue at the throat to pure white on the petals edges.

Agapanthus can be split into 2 categories; Deciduous and Evergreen.

The deciduous varieties lose their leaves at the end of the summer and are generally hardier than the Evergreen types.  Remove the dead leaves and mulch with a little straw and they will sit out the winter quietly in borders or pots.

Evergreen Varieties keep their leaves all year round and tend to need a little more winter protection.  They generally have larger flower heads than the deciduous types.

They are best grown in pots so you can either move the pots into a cold green house for the winter or move them closer to the house or into a sheltered area of the garden to help them through the winter.

What Compost to use for your Agapanthus

Use a good coarse compost for Agapanthus, they like good drainage round their roots. We use Camden’s  “Tubs & basket” mix for our plants.  Then we add “Agapanthus Boost” granules to give them a good start.

Watering your Agpanthus

Agapanthus require regular watering from early spring to the end of summer, they will use a lot to grow and to produce & maintain their flowers. A regular liquid feed of a high potash fertiliser for example ‘Cramden Elixir’ or tomato feed from spring to the end of autumn is very important, this will help flower bud production, for this year and for next year.  Even after your plants have finished flowering regular watering and feeding will set the plant and buds up for next summer’s display. Water as regular as needed and feed once or, even better, twice a week.

Agapanthus like full sun, so find them a sunny spot in the garden so they can make the most of all the sunshine.   Agapanthus come into flower from midsummer onwards and will reward your garden with a stunning display of spherical flower heads.  If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Cramden Nursery, you can email us on info@cramdennursery.co.uk or pop into the nursery next to the Kingsthorpe Cemetery and have a chat with Nic AKA the “Agapanthus King”.  He is always happy to chat & help you find the best Agapanthus for your garden.