An agapanthus or "African lily" in full bloom.Q: How do you think African lilies, specifically Agapanthus 'Loch Hope,' would do in our area? From what I've read, it would be borderline hardy in Zone 6. Its certainly a striking plant, and I'm hoping that I may be able to work it in somewhere, perhaps paired with a pink phlox.
A: I love agapanthus, which are also sometimes called "lily of the Nile." I was just over in South Africa in January and saw these growing all over the place, from botanic gardens to front-yard groundcovers to driveway edgings. They're native to South Africa.
The problem here is that they're very border-line hardy. With a heavy layer of mulch over winter, you may luck out and get a plant to come back. But I wouldn't bet on it. I've tried it and had no luck.
I don't know how hardy 'Loch Hope' is (sounds like about average, from what I've read), but there are a couple of particularly winter-hardy agapanthus that supposedly are hardy down to Zone 5 (a zone colder than us). One is a white bloomer called 'Cold Hardy White,' and the other is a more traditional blue-blooming 'Kingston Blue Strain.' I've seen the latter in the High Country Gardens catalog (www.highcountrygardens.com).
I've had best luck growing agapanthus in pots. They make a great strappy-leafed centerpiece and look good surrounded by pink or white trailers.
You can also plant them in the ground, but if you want to keep them year after year, you'll have to dig them up after frost browns out the foliage.
Agapanthus stores very well just left in a pot of dry potting soil over winter in an unheated garage. I found that out the first year I planted some in a big pot on my back deck.
After frost, I just cut off the brown leaves and took the whole pot into the garage. I even covered it with another pot that I put on top of it upside-down to save space.
Come spring, I was surprised to find that the agapanthus was actually sending up shoots underneath the inverted pot. The leaves were a very pale green, but that told me the roots were alive -- even though they had no light and no water all winter.
I moved the pot outside and gave it some water and fertilizer, and within a few days, the leaves greened, and the plant went on to bloom again that summer.
I'll bet if you go with that game plan, you'll be able to keep 'Loch Hope' going for years.