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In praise of Agapanthus
 Agapanthus dwarf hybrid
Agapanthus have fleshy strong roots that hold banks, stop erosion, grow under trees in dense shade, out in the hottest sun, any where at all. They tolerate being walked on, driven over, petrol fumes, howling gales. Once established weeds can’t compete so they become the ultimate weed free garden. The weed spray Round up can be sprayed over Agapanthus to kill competing weeds and not affect the Agapanthus.
On the down side their roots will grow into neigbouring plants to rob them of nutrients and water. The large growing varieties will crack restricting concrete. The light seeds are dispersed by wind and can end up in unwanted places. However seedlings are easily removed. Established plants are very difficult to remove as they build up quite an underground mat of solid roots. Diggers are normally required to get the bulk out otherwise the roots will resprout into new crowns.
I am still planting Agapanthus in my new garden. I love them because they are so easy. No need to water, or spray. The lush flowing leaves are a lovely contrast to other plants. The strong flower heads don’t require staking and all make lovely cut flowers ,lasting up to three weeks in a vase. Blue is such a wonderful colour in the garden and tones down all the other hot colours in the garden through summer. The dwarf growers make lovely neat borders while the taller growers are perfect for lining driveways. While Agapanthus grows anywhere it is loathe to flower in the shade so if you want flowers then grow in full sun. This is the reason I don’t consider Agapanthus an atrocious weed. While the plants will grow in shade they produce few flowers so self seeding in our native bush shouldn’t pose as a serious problem. The simplest way to stop Agapanthus from self seeding is to cut off the stems after flowering. The seed heads are quite an attractive feature and the seeds are green for many months before they shed their seed in early autumn so there is plenty of time between flowering and self seeding before to need to get your loppers or secateurs out.
Another great plus for Agapanthus is their ease of propagation. Almost any time of year one can dig off side pieces or split up whole clumps .Just water well in and away they will go. The traditional varieties are the large growing and flowering oriental varieties of different shades of blue and pure white. Hybridisation over the years has resulted in the breeding of smaller growers with smaller flowers. The smaller flowers are highly valued now as a commercial cut flower and many flower throughout the year. There are so many named varieties to choose from these days. A lot of them look similar when you purchase them but grow and flower quite differently. So the list of my favourites below should be a handy reference.
White Ice
A medium sized grower. 1.2 metre long thick stems. The large flowers are pure icy white.
Snowball
A compact grower ideally suited to borders.40 cm stems carry balls of white flowers.
Crystal Drops
A taller grower with 60 cm flower stems. The white flowers have a soft pink blush and are pendulous
Silver Baby
A dwarf grower with narrow leaves. The smaller white flowers are flushed pale blue. En masse gives a silvery effect.
Purple Cloud
A taller grower with 1.2 metre flower stems. The flowers are a rich navy blue and pendulous.
Peter Pan
A medium sized compact grower with shorter broad leaves. This variety always has a flower or two throughout the year with the main flowering in early summer. Balls are mid blue in colour.
Baby Blue
This is the smallest and most compact growing of the Agapanthus. A mass of 20 to 30 cm flower spikes carry small balls of true blue.
 Agapanthus Purple Cloud
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