Last summer, while travelling through France, I was surprised and delighted to come across an unusual flower.
I had never seen one like this in my climate zone and needed to find out what it was!
It’s funnel shaped delicate flowers looked like a fireworks display atop a tough central stem.
Once I figured out what this flower was, I quickly understood that it’s not hardy in my zone 5a garden.
Fortunately, all hope was not lost when I learned how to grow them in a cooler climate.
If you follow these techniques, you should have no problem growing them in your garden.
Lily of the Nile or Agapanthus is a native flower of Southern Africa, but has naturalized in other warm climates, including Northern California.
Hardy to zone 8, this flower is better suited to growing in a pot in temperatures that fall below 5 degrees celsius. Agapanthus can grow to a height of 2 feet and as wide as 2 to 4 feet, once established.
Flower of the Day: Agapanthus
How to Grow Agapanthus in a cooler climate:
- It prefers full to partial sun and consistent watering (especially when grown in pots).
- In cooler climates, simply bring your Agapanthus pots indoors and store them in a cool garage, or greenhouse.
- Do not remove any foliage until the following spring.
- In the spring, fresh green shoots will emerge.
- Water and take your pots outside to a sheltered location, to ease acclimating to outside conditions.
- Feed your plants weekly, with a balanced liquid feed, until the flowers begin to show colour.
- Continue to grow in a pot, or replant into the garden, for the season.
I plan to include Agapanthus in my 2017 flower garden. It will be displayed as a focal point and will look striking in a large pot next to the other flowers and grasses.
Have you grown Agapanthus? How do you prepare it for winter? Please share your experience in the comments section.
Happy Gardening!