Everything you need to know about Agapanthus
…and some things that may surprise you!
The last year or so in the U.K has not been kind to Agapanthus plants, bless them. It’s been ridiculously wet, we’ve had sudden hard frosts, not much sun and then to top it all, summer was a washout, apart from the last month or so. It’s pretty much the worst weather possible for these South African beauties. But, there are a couple of tricks for how to keep them at their best despite our changing climate. I’ve been growing them for years and now, in my new garden, I have them everywhere, even growing out of the cracks between the old stone steps. They clearly like the little microclimate we have here being surrounded by walls and there’s a clue to their success there.
However, even in my little ‘Agapathoasis’, trouble was afoot this year. I had rotting flower buds! This was almost certainly due to the utterly ridiculous amounts of rain we’ve had. There is a new pest in the UK, but I found no evidence of that. Their little heads would appear in early summer, followed by strong stem growth, the buds growing fatter by the day, like a goose prepped for Christmas. The anticipation was almost too much to bear. Then nothing. They wouldn’t open, the little blighters! Their acid-green tiny coats refused point blank to prize themselves apart to reveal their precious drops of amethyst. I did try to manually open the buds, which helped a few happy prisoners, but others suffered the worst fate of any bloom on earth - failure to launch.
So what’s the answer to all of the problems that seem to blight these most prized of blooms and how can you make sure they flower for you? Read on to find out. There’s also a short video about how I look after my plants.