Agapanthus General Info

African blue lily, Agapanthus

Agapanthus add a wonderfullexotic touch to any planting scheme or container. Traditionally, they have only been suitable for growing in warm coastal gardens, but now there is an increasing range of hardier varieties. 

The name agapanthus is derived from the Greek 'agape', meaning love, and 'anthos', flower. The plants are native to South Africa and were brought back to Europe in the seventeenth century  by botonists who explored the Cape. Agapanthus africanus was first introduced to Europe in 1679.

Agapanthus have large and rounded flower-heads known as umbels, which are  made up of many tubular flowers. Their colour ranges from shades of blue through to  deep violet, there are also some pure white forms. The deciduous varieties, such as 'China Moon' 'Agapanthus Praecox' and 'Nana White ', are more hardy cultivars for the garden.

There als a number of darf varieties suitable for containers such as 'Tinkerbell' which are well worth giving a try.