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:

1. It prefers full to partial sun and consistent watering (especially when grown in pots).
2. In cooler climates, simply bring your Agapanthus pots indoors and store them in a cool garage, or greenhouse.
3. Do not remove any foliage until the following spring.
4. In the spring, fresh green shoots will emerge.
5. Water and take your pots outside to a sheltered location, to ease acclimating to outside conditions.
6. Feed your plants weekly, with a balanced liquid feed, until the flowers begin to show colour.
7. 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!