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Agapanthus - what to do with it now?!

katvetkatvet Posts: 45
in Plants

All my Agapanthus currently look like this:

image

What's the best thing to do to help them survive over winter? I live in the South West so (hopefully!) shouldn't get too cold! Do I trim all the foliage off in order to mulch over, or leave the foliage as is? I've been waiting for the seed heads to dry out enough to collect the seeds but they're still quite fleshy - can I chop them down and dry out indoors or will this affect the seeds? Thanks image

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  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,888

    I'd leave it alone to be honest. 

    Do you know if it's an evergreen variety? It looks like it might be.

    Generally not as hardy as deciduous types but in SW it should be ok.

    If it gets very cold the leaves might get knocked back but it's unlikely to be killed off unless very very cold.

     

    Devon.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,888

    I'd remove the seed heads as these hoover up a lot of energy. If you want to collect seed ,just leave one spike and remove the rest.

    Devon.
  • VoyagerxpVoyagerxp Posts: 651

    I't will be fine, it will die back and come back next year. If your not going to gather seed then cut the stalks off and leave the leaves on as they will act like mulch and help protect against frost.

  • BiljeBilje Posts: 811
    I have three white evergreen agapanthus in pots. Which look like yours. I can't bring them undercover so the go against the house wall to get a little protection and hopefully not too much rain. I've had them about 10 years originally they were in a bed but grew to strongly for where they were. I live in the NE and we've had some hard frosts over the years. They keep their leaves over the winter but can look woebegone by the spring. The pots are then moved to a warmer spot and any really poorly leaves removed....so far despite at times some severe damage they have come away again , this year they have flowered profusely. Good luck.
  • gardenninggrannygardenninggranny Posts: 803

    Wait until the seedheads are really dry if you can, and ready to pop.

    The seed germinates very easily. but the resultant plants could take a year or two before they flower (or even more).  A sprinkling in a flower pot, sown immediately after harvesting, yielded about 60 plants, and I ran ouit of space to prick them all out.

    I put a mound of leaf mold around the crowns, and a marker peg because the leaves of mine die away - the marker peg helps me remember where they are!

    They also have roots that love to romp, so often flower better in a constricted space.

  • Silvia3Silvia3 Posts: 1

    Thank you everybody all my questions answered in 5 very helpful conversations about Agapanthus.

    Happy gardening!

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