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The agapanthus flower, an ornamental herbaceous perennial, was given to the world by South Africa. This spectacular lush plant, replete with long thick leaves, for a long time it is decorated with delicate bright flowers of an unusual shape. Not so many species of agapanthus are known, but they are able to effectively pollinate, forming interesting hybrids. Today this plant is successfully grown both in the open field and in flowerpots on the windows. Reproduction and planting of agapanthus are not difficult, caring for it is also very simple. Providing him with favorable conditions, fertile soil, moderate watering, wintering indoors or shelter for the winter, an abundance of light and warmth, you can quickly get a beautiful and original flower that looks great in a room, on a flower bed or in a flower garden. In addition, the agapanthus rhizome has a number of useful properties and is used in folk medicine.
General description of the plant
Agapanthus is a genus of flowering herbaceous perennial plants, currently isolated into a separate Agapantov family. This unusual and very decorative flower is also known under the poetic folk names African Lily, Lily of the Nile, Abyssinian beauty. Agapanthus was introduced to Europe in the 17th century.
In fact, he does not have much in common with lilies, first of all, there is some external similarity in the shape of the flowers of these plants. At the same time, earlier agapanthus was reckoned to the Liliaceae family, then to the Amaryllis family, and after that to the Lukov family. But references to the hot continent are not groundless, since in the wild it grows exclusively in the Cape region (on the Cape of Good Hope), along the ocean coast and on the mountain slopes.
This plant has a powerful, branched creeping rhizome with short fleshy roots.
Its long, elongated leaves are usually dark green in color. They have a lanceolate shape and a noticeable thickening at the very base, their length can reach 20-70 cm. The leaf blades of the plant are collected in dense, dense basal rosettes.
In the middle of summer, before the beginning of flowering, a long peduncle grows from the rhizome of the agapanthus, otherwise called the "false stem". Its length varies from 0.5 m in dwarf plant species, to 1-1.5 m in the rest. It is a sturdy bare tube with a spherical inflorescence at the top. It is a large raceme (15-25 cm in diameter), consisting of 20-150 small, elongated, funnel-shaped flowers of 6 petals, which are attached to the peduncle with short petioles. Their color can be varied: white, blue, blue, lavender, blue-purple.
To imagine what an agapanthus flower looks like, a photo will help:
Agapanthus inflorescence resembles a ball, consisting of 20-150 small elongated flowers, and keeps on a high peduncle
This plant usually blooms for 1-2 months, but the rest of the time it remains very decorative thanks to the lush mop of green leaves.
Agapanthus fruit is a capsule with multiple flat brown-black seeds. They ripen 1-1.5 months after the end of flowering of the plant.
Breeding features
There are three ways to breed agapanthus:
- growing from seeds;
- dividing the bush;
- rooting of processes.
Seed propagation of this plant is not always successful. In addition, if the flowers turn out to be over-pollinated, it is possible that the seedlings will not show the characteristic features of the desired variety. It is also known that plants obtained from seeds begin to bloom 5-7 years after sowing. Due to all this, this method is not used so often.
A more popular and easy breeding option for agapanthus is the division of an adult plant. It allows you to immediately get two developed, ready-to-bloom specimens.
You can divide agapanthus twice a year:
- in the fall, after he has time to bloom;
- in the spring, before the appearance of peduncles.
You should act like this:
- carefully dig up the agapanthus bush along with the root;
- carefully clean the rhizome from the soil;
- with a sterile sharp knife, cut it into two parts so that each of them has its own rosette of leaves;
- sprinkle the cuts with crushed activated carbon;
- sustain the delenki for several days, covering the roots with a damp substrate;
- then root them in the ground in a place of constant growth.
The third method is based on the fact that daughter young shoots are often formed in an adult plant near the main basal rosette. These "babies" of agapanthus can be carefully separated without digging out the bush and planted on their own. The main thing during this procedure is not to damage the roots of the seedling and the parent specimen.
Types and varieties
There are few described species agapanthuses. However, they are all capable of effectively interbreeding with each other, resulting in interesting hybrid varieties.
African agapanthus
The species Agapanthus africanus has another name - Umbellate agapanthus (Agapanthus umbellatus). It has been cultivated as a cultivated plant in Europe since 1824. It belongs to the evergreen agapanthus.
African agapanthus hybrids are very common in garden and indoor floriculture.
Its height can reach 0.6-1 m. On narrow (up to 2 cm) dark green leaves, a light longitudinal stripe is clearly visible. The length of the plates is usually 30-60 cm. The diameter of the umbrella-inflorescence reaches 25 cm; 20-40 flowers are usually collected in one brush. Their color varies depending on the type of plant: it can be white, blue, blue, lilac.
Flowering of African agapanthus begins in mid-July and lasts until the second half of September. In its "original" form, this plant is almost never found in culture, but its hybrids are very common, which are well adapted to growing in an apartment.
Eastern agapanthus
The species Eastern Agapanthus (Agapanthus orientalis) is also called early Agapanthus (Agapanthus praecox). It is an evergreen plant. It is distinguished from African agapanthus by lighter, wider and slightly curved leaf blades, as well as shorter peduncles (up to 60 cm). He does not grow tall - only about 60-75 cm.
Eastern agapanthus (early) is very decorative during and after flowering
This agapanthus is characterized by a delicate porcelain-blue color of flowers. Each inflorescence unites from 50 to 100 buds and therefore resembles a large ball up to 40 cm in diameter in shape.
Oriental agapanthus blooms from mid to late summer.
Agapanthus bell-shaped
Agapanthus campanulatus is a deciduous species.In nature, it grows mainly on damp mountain slopes. Its linear, fleshy, erect leaves reach 15-30 cm in length and 3 cm in width, forming dense bushes. In the cold winter period, they fall off, and the plant enters a dormant period, after which it again grows green mass.
Agapanthus bell-shaped - deciduous species that sheds green mass during dormancy
The flowering of this agapanthus can be observed in July-August. Loose umbrellas are kept on the tops of numerous half-meter peduncles. Each of them contains up to 30 flowers of a characteristic bell-shaped shape. They are painted, as a rule, in pale blue (less often in lilac or white).
Agapanthus closed
Closed agapanthus (Agapanthus inapertus) is a deciduous species. It begins to bloom in August, and the bells that form in the inflorescences look drooping and do not fully open throughout the entire flowering period, which ends in mid-October.
The length of its leaves is usually 60-90 cm, width - up to 6 cm, their color is green with a blue tint and a weak bluish bloom. Peduncles reach 1.5 m in height. The flowers are dark blue or purple.
The drooping flowers of closed agapanthus never fully open, looks very beautiful indoors on a sunny window
Hybrid decorative agapanthus
Today, many decorative garden and indoor varieties of agapanthus have been bred, which differ in the shape and color of flowers, leaves, as well as the height of the peduncles. It is worth dwelling on the description of some of the most interesting of them.
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a dwarf hybrid of African agapanthus, reaching a height of about 30-45 cm. Large caps of its flowers (up to 15 cm in diameter) are painted in pale blue. In central Russia and in the Moscow region, this agapanthus is grown indoors - in pots or tubs, but in warmer climatic conditions it can also grow in open ground. In a flower bed, Peter Pan usually blooms from June to October, although if there is a nearby heat source, flowers can appear on it in the winter. This plant looks good when cut in bouquets.
Peter Pan is a famous dwarf hybrid with pale blue flowers
Blue
Agapanthus Blue, or Blue, can be grown both in the garden and on the balcony. The length of its peduncles reaches 0.7-1 m, and numerous flowers from 2 to 3.5 cm in diameter have a rich blue color. Blue is an evergreen hybrid of the umbrella agapanthus that does not lose leaves if it is transplanted from open ground into a box for the winter and kept indoors. The flowering period of the plant is from July to the end of September.
Blue grows well in the garden and on the loggia
Baby Blue
Baby Blue is a dwarf compact bush 15-20 cm high. On thick, strong stems there are dense baskets of dense elongated flowers of lilac-blue color. A characteristic feature of the plant is the edge on the peduncles and the underside of the leaves. Late flowering variety (late July or even October). Differs in high drought resistance.
Baby Blue is a deep blue dwarf agapanthus
White
Agapanthus White, or White, looks very decorative thanks to lush white inflorescences on peduncles of medium height (0.7-0.8 m), for which dense rosettes of dark green leaves serve. The buds open gradually, and due to this, the flowering of the plant lasts a long time, usually from July to September. In the event that Agapanthus White is grown indoors, it is advised to take it out into the garden or on an open balcony for the summer, otherwise you can not wait for flowering.
Luxurious white inflorescences of the White variety will decorate any flower bed
Black Buddhist
Agapanthus Black Buddhist is known for its unusual, almost black stems and purple-blue flowers. At the same time, a longitudinal dark stripe is clearly visible in the center of each petal. It grows up to 60-90 cm.The plant has straight leaves of a rich green color, which it sheds for the winter. Flowering lasts from mid-July to late August.
Original blue-purple inflorescences Black Buddhist look very unusual
Fireworks
The Fireworks variety, or Fireworks, looks very original due to the contrasting color of elongated tubular flowers, the lower part of the petals of which is bright lilac, and the upper part is snow-white. In combination with the lush green of the leaves, the plant looks amazing in the garden or on the window. Agapanthus Fireworks does not grow tall (30-60 cm). Flowering, depending on climatic conditions, begins in mid or late summer.
Bright "bells" of the Fireworks variety are painted in two contrasting colors
Variegata
Variegata is a hybrid of the eastern (early) agapanthus, growing up to 30-60 cm. This plant has very beautiful long leaves with characteristic white-yellow stripes running parallel to the green central vein and a yellow border around the edge. The pale, light blue, almost white flowers of the Variegata cultivar on 60-70 cm stems appear in mid-summer.
Variegata are characterized by striped yellow-green leaves.
Albus
Agapanthus Albus (Albus) is a wonderful tall (60-90 cm) hybrid of African agapanthus. Its dense umbrellas on high peduncles in the midst of flowering resemble large snow-white balls about 25 cm in diameter and attract the eye, decorating any corner of the garden. As a houseplant, it is convenient to grow a dwarf version of this hybrid - Albus Nanus, which does not grow taller than 40 cm.
Snow-white Albus is equally beautiful in tall and dwarf versions
Tinkerbell
The Tinkerbell dwarf hybrid reaches only 45 cm in height, but looks very impressive. Graceful clusters of "bells" of this agapanthus are painted in a sky-blue color, and green leaves adorn the silvery stripes. The Tinkerbell cultivar remains decorative even after it has faded.
Baby Tinkerbell has pale blue flowers and silvery stripes on the leaves.
Planting and caring for agapanthus at home
A florist who wants to grow indoor agapanthus should familiarize himself in more detail with the preferences of this plant and take care of creating the necessary conditions in the room chosen for it. In this case, you can get a beautiful and healthy flower that feels great all year round in a flowerpot on the windowsill.
Sowing dates
The optimal time for germinating seedlings from seeds is early spring (early March). The room where the containers with planting material will be kept should be warm - about + 24 ° C, otherwise you can not wait for the seedlings.
Preparation of containers and soil
It is most convenient to use wide wooden boxes or containers as a planting container for growing agapanthus seedlings.
The soil should be:
- loose;
- nutritious;
- well drained.
Leafy earth mixed with sand, or peat with perlite in a 1: 3 ratio is perfect for agapanthus seedlings.
Landing algorithm
Planting seeds is carried out as follows:
- a drainage layer 3-5 cm thick is poured onto the bottom of the container;
- fill the container with soil and moisten it by spraying it from a spray bottle;
- make small holes in the substrate, put 1 seed in each;
- you should not bury the seed - just press it a little into the soil with your fingers;
- on top, the seeds are lightly sprinkled with soil or sand.
Next, the box should be covered with glass or a piece of film to create a "greenhouse effect" and placed on a well-lit windowsill.
How to grow agapanthus from seeds at home
For agapanthus seeds to germinate successfully, you need to take proper care of them immediately after planting:
- Remove the cover film or glass from the box 2-3 times a day for about 20-30 minutes, providing unhindered air access to the seeds. After the first shoots appear after 1-2 weeks, the "greenhouse" should be completely removed.
- It is imperative to keep the soil moist, preventing it from drying out, but not flooding it too much. The ideal option is spraying from a spray bottle.
- After the seedlings have the 4th true leaf, they will need to be dived. At this stage, the plants are planted in open ground or in individual larger pots with fertile soil.
After the appearance of 4 leaves, agapanthus seedlings can be dived into individual pots
Growing agapanthus at home
Caring for agapanthus at home is not particularly difficult. To keep the plant healthy and comfortable, it is enough to observe the following rules:
- Install the pot on the lightest windowsill (preferably on the south window), making sure that the agapanthus is well protected from drafts.
- Water the flower regularly and carefully, without waterlogging the soil, otherwise the leaves may turn yellow and wither. It is advisable to use pre-settled water at room temperature.
- In spring and summer, it is recommended to feed agapanthus once a week with complex formulations. In winter, the flower does not need fertilization.
- If the inflorescences of the plant are very voluminous and large, it may need props so that the peduncles do not break.
- Agapanthus does not like excessively hot temperatures. In the summer, it is advisable to take it out on an open balcony, in a garden or on a terrace, if possible. In winter, the plant will feel good indoors at a temperature of about + 18 ° C.
Planting and caring for agapanthus in the ground
Growing agapanthus in the open field has its own characteristics. However, a plant planted in a garden has a number of advantages over one that is constantly in the apartment: it looks more powerful, develops faster and blooms more abundantly.
Transplanting seedlings
Agapanthus seedlings are usually transferred to open ground in early or mid-May. By this time, warm weather should be stable outside (not lower than + 10-12 ° С).
A place for planting agapanthus must be selected according to the following criteria:
- well lit, sunny, with little shade at midday;
- protected from gusts of wind and drafts;
- neutral or slightly acidic soil.
The composition of the soil should be nutritious:
- 2 parts humus;
- 2 parts of sod land;
- 1 part peat;
- 1 part sand.
The procedure for planting agapanthus seedlings in the ground is as follows:
- Shallow holes (about 8 cm) should be dug on the site. In the event that several plants are supposed to be planted, the distance between them should be at least 0.5 m.
- Seedlings must be carefully removed from the pots so as not to damage the roots.
- Place each plant in the hole, spread the root system, sprinkle with earth and carefully compact it.
- After that, it is necessary to mulch the soil at the roots of the agapanthus so that it retains moisture better.
In the process of digging or transplanting agapanthus, it is extremely important not to damage its root system.
Watering and feeding
Agapanthus growing in an open area should be watered often - as the top layer of the soil dries up. The amount of water should be moderate: with excessive moisture, the plant bulbs can rot. With the onset of cold weather, watering the flower should be done as rarely as possible, only after the soil is thoroughly dry. In winter, they stop moistening the soil altogether, except for a situation when the agapanthus in a tub is transferred from the garden to a heated room before spring comes. In this case, the plant does not have a dormant period, and it is required to water it as needed, making sure that the roots do not dry out too much.
The agapanthus feeding regime is simple: at the stage of budding and flowering, complex fertilizers for flowering plants should be applied to the soil 2 times a month. The alternation of mineral compositions with organic ones is also effective, until the end of the growing season of the flower.
Agapanthus wintering
It is known that agapanthus growing in the ground is able to withstand a drop in air temperature to + 10 ° С if it is an evergreen species, and up to + 5 ° С if it is deciduous.
Based on this, in the southern regions of Russia, agapanthus can winter in the open field, provided it is provided with a reliable shelter from coniferous spruce branches or a thick layer (20–0 cm) of fallen leaves or sawdust.
If the garden is located in a colder region, where the air cools in winter below the designated maximum temperatures, then it is necessary to organize the agapanthus wintering differently. To do this, the plant is carefully dug out with the rhizome, necessarily leaving a lump of earth on it, placed in a box and kept in a cool, dry room (basement) until spring, when it is again planted in the ground.
If agapanthus grows in a tub, it is convenient to remove it for the winter in a room and a greenhouse without digging it out of the ground
Transplanting flowers
Agapanthus is rarely transplanted, since he does not tolerate it well. You should know that this plant blooms best if the pot is a little tight for it. Young and small-sized specimens can be transplanted once every 3-4 years.
Pests and diseases
Observing the appearance of a plant will help in time to identify signs of disease or exposure to pests and promptly eliminate this nuisance.
Most often, a florist may notice such deviations from the norm:
- Yellowing of the leaves. The reason for this may lie in excessive watering. The soil moisture should be adjusted, and the plant will recover. Another possible cause is intense heat. In this case, it is necessary to organize shading during the sunniest hours and provide the plant with sufficient moisture. The third option, which can be suspected if mainly young leaves turn yellow, is chlorosis caused by a lack of iron. Perhaps the acidity of the soil is increased, and the roots of the plant cannot assimilate this element. The pH level of the soil under the agapanthus should be measured, and if it exceeds 7, it should be reduced to at least 6.5 by applying fertilizers containing calcium and magnesium.
Yellowing Agapanthus leaves may indicate that he has sunburn.
- Too long, elongated peduncles. This is due to insufficient lighting. Agapanthus must be transplanted to a sunny area, rearranged the pot with a plant to a more lighted window, or arrange additional lighting.
If the agapanthus lacks light, the peduncles lengthen and become fragile.
- Drying and dying off of leaves. One of the most common reasons is an attack by pests (spider mites or scale insects). In case of weak damage to the plant, 2-3 times treatment of the green mass of agapanthus with soapy water can help. It is required to moisten a cotton swab in it and wipe the leaf blades, manually removing pests. If the plant is badly damaged, it is advisable to spray with insecticidal preparations (Aktellik, Fitoverm, Aktara).
Drying of the leaves can be caused by an attack of a scale insect or a spider mite.
Useful properties of the plant
Agapanthus is a plant known not only for its decorative, but also for its beneficial properties. So, it is recommended to grow it in an apartment, since it is believed that it is able to absorb heavy metals contained in the air, and during the flowering period it releases phytoncides - substances that have antibacterial and antimicrobial effects.
There is information that the agapanthus rhizome can be used to treat inflammation or edema, as well as to fight viruses. However, it should be remembered that the juice of this plant is poisonous, and upon contact with the skin, it can cause severe irritation and an allergic reaction.
Conclusion
Agapanthus flower is a beautiful and undemanding perennial plant that looks very decorative during and after flowering. It will be a wonderful decoration for the interior of a house or apartment, and will also look great in an open planting on a plot, in a greenhouse or in a winter garden. Due to the fact that agapanthus of different species and varieties are easily crossed, there are many hybrids that differ in the size, color and shape of leaves and flowers. Among them, you can easily choose one that will embody the wishes of any grower.
