Agapanthus

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Agapanthus

Agapanthus is derived from the Greek: agape, love, and anthos, a flower. Nat. Ord. Liliaceaz.

Also called the Blue African Lily, A. umbellatus, is a noble plant, with thick, fleshy roots, and retains its leaves all the winter. There is a variety with striped leaves.

A. albidus has white flowers, but it does not differ from the common kind in any other respect. The African Lilies all require a loamy soil, enriched with rotted manure, and they should be fully exposed to the light.

Agapanthus is a genus of flower plants with six to ten species depending on how the different species are classified. They are all herbaceous perennial plants native to South Africa. They have been placed either in the family Alliaceae, or separated into their own monogeneric family Agapanthaceae (e.g. Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vascularium).

Members of the genus have funnel-shaped flowers, in varying shades of blue colors with white flowering forms occurring. The species have been hybridized to produce additional colors in plants under cultivation. The flowers are produced in many-flowered cymes on long, erect stems called scapes, which can grow up 1 m long. The basal leaves are curved, lanceolate, and are up to 60 cm long.

Characteristics of Agapanthus Plants

Agapanthus plants are always large before they flower ; and when the flower stalks appear, the plant should be in a large pot, so that the roots may have plenty of room. They should be abundantly supplied with water, taking care, however, not to let any remain in a stagnant state about the roots. Thus treated, this plant will frequently send up a flower-stalk above three feet high, crowned with twenty or thirty flowers, which will open in succession.

It flowers in summer, and forms a noble ornament to an architectural terrace, and is also a fine object on a lawn.

Species of Agapanthus

Zonneveld & Duncan (2003) classified Agapanthus into six species (A. africanus, A. campanulatus, A. caulescens, A. coddii, A. inapertus, A. praecox). Four additional taxa recognised by Leighton (1965) as species (A. comptonii, A. dyeri, A. nutans, A. walshii) are given status below species rank by Zonneveld & Duncan.

• Agapanthus africanus (syn. A. umbellatus; African Lily or African Tulip)
• Agapanthus campanulatus (African bluebell, African Blue lily or Bell Agapanthus)
• Agapanthus caulescens
• Agapanthus coddii (Codd's Agapanthus or Blue Lily)
• Agapanthus comptonii
• Agapanthus dyeri
• Agapanthus inapertus (Drakensberg Agapanthus or Drooping Agapanthus)
• Agapanthus nutans
• Agapanthus praecox
• Agapanthus walshii

Cultivation and uses

Agapanthus africanus can be grown within USDA plant hardiness zones 9 to 11. In lower-numbered zones, the bulbs should be placed deeper in the soil and mulched well in the fall. Agapanthus can be propagated by dividing the bulbs or by seeds, the seeds of most varieties are fertile.

Several hundred cultivars and hybrids are cultivated as garden and landscape plants. Several are winter-hardy to USDA Zone 7.