African
Lily
Perennial
Family: Liliaceae
Agapanthus africanus
Also known as Agapanthus umbellatus and Lily-of-the-Nile,
although it is a native of Cape Colony.
The foliage is abundant, long, thick and narrow,
rising from two to three feet and bright green.
The flowers, about an inch across, are borne in
large umbels on leaf-less stems to a height of
three or more feet, as many as twenty or thirty
flowers composing a single umbel.
The colour is pale to deep blue, and there is
a form giganteus that has stems of over four feet.
There is also a white flowered form.
Agapanthus africanus and its forms are hardy out-of-doors
only in the milder parts of Britain, particularly
in the west and the south-west.
In Cornwall the agapanthus grows wild and there
are particularly stunning examples each summer
at the Eden
Project
Its variety mooreanus, with short and upright
foliage and dark blue flowers, is hardier.
The position must be in full sun, and a rich soil
that has been prepared by the introduction of
farm-yard manure is necessary to grow these plants
satisfactorily. They make excellent tub plants.
Propagation is by division of the roots in spring
and rarely by seed.
The flowering season in July and August.
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