"Janet Galpin" wrote in message
...
The message
from "keith ;-\)" contains these
words:


"Rupert" wrote in message
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"Tiger303" wrote in message
...

with regard to the agapanthus, i got some roots of both white & blue
colours from parkers and although the leaves have grown very strongly
this year in a pot they didn't flower. i've read that in the first
year
its quite often they don't flower, and they're in the sunniest
position
i have so i'm worried about no flowers until next year. Although it
wasn't until the August that i read in the RHS garden magazine that
they do need to be feed, when somewhere else i read that they don't,
anyone care to comment, perhaps its matters whether theyre evergreen
or
decidous.

i'm pretty sure mine are decididous, it never said in the parkers
catalogue and the leaves are still remarkably green, but then again
they are near the warmth of the house. I think they were listed as
hardy so perhaps i dont need to worry about giving them a mulch, but
i


Your Agapanthus can be left alone and the leaves will soon be gone.
Do not feed it-make it struggle and become pot bound-this will force it
into
flower eventually.
The Parkers bulbs are fine and I am pretty certain you will get a few
flowers next year on the blue one.
The white one you got would have been a smaller root and may need that
extra
year before flowering.

As for the manure,only use well rotted manure as new stuff has lots of
ammonia in it.Only put around the crown ,not on top of the plants.This
would
cause rotting etc.If you are worried about the agapanthus and they are in
pots you could bring them close to a south facing fall, rap them in
fleece
for protection or put a thick layer of mulch around the crown.I put mine
in
my unheated greenhouse,i have 3 in seperate teracotta pots.
Thanks Keith
PS Most stay evergreen if given protection,mine only lost a few leaves
last
year.


I seem to recall that the deciduous Agagpanthus are hardier than the
evergreen ones. I have only evergreen ones and they have survived the
last few winters out of doors both in the ground and in a pot in a
fairly sheltered position, so if Parkers are saying hardy I should think
yours should be OK.
They like to be grown in quite sharp draining lean conditions. I
wouldn't overdo the manure as you will get leafy growth at the expense
of flowering.
Janet G

Yes that's my understanding. The Parkers bulbs agapanthus shed their leaves
once the frosts come.
If put in a greenhouse I guess they would remain evergreen and flower much
earlier if left inside until June. That's what all the Stately homes seem
to do, but that may be because of the myth that they require totally frost
free conditions.