User avatar
RASelkirk
Full Member
Posts: 37
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2020 5:47 pm
Location: SETX, zone 9b

Agapanthus care?

Hi All,

My landscaper put in maybe a dozen or so Agapanthus two years ago and now they look like &*%#$$^. I'm not sure of the proper care, when they stopped blooming, I cut the stems back and left the leaves alone. Now the leaves are yellow and wilted and on some of the plants, have regressed to less than 6" in length on their own. Are these savable?

Thanks!

Russ

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

It sounds like they did not get enough water or fertilizer. Perennials should be divided every couple of years. That being said my agapanthus shrank too, but I definitely starved them and they had been crowded for 20 years.

If the bulbs are not rotting, you can dig them up and amend the bed with compost and fertilizer and replant them. They need regular watering.

User avatar
RASelkirk
Full Member
Posts: 37
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2020 5:47 pm
Location: SETX, zone 9b

imafan26 wrote:
Fri Nov 27, 2020 2:34 am
It sounds like they did not get enough water or fertilizer. Perennials should be divided every couple of years. That being said my agapanthus shrank too, but I definitely starved them and they had been crowded for 20 years.

If the bulbs are not rotting, you can dig them up and amend the bed with compost and fertilizer and replant them. They need regular watering.
Thanks Roger,

We're in a (usually) wet environment but this "new" weather the past couple years seems to be feast or famine. We're due 7" this weekend after not having more than a few sprinkles the past 6 weeks. I have sprinklers on the front beds that run for 20 minutes every 3 days, but the pool area is on me to remember.

What is "divided"? Do you take clippings or actually separate parts of the plant?

Landscapers here put down plastic sheeting and punch through where the plants go in, does the fertilizer get sprinkled as if the sheeting wasn't there?

Would you recommend trimming off the yellow parts of the leaves?

I'm gonna try and keep these, right now they look rather shabby compared to those of neighbors with professional gardeners...

Thanks!

Russ

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Hello Russ,

Roger is the Webmaster, that is not me.

Agapanthus is drought resistant, but not drought proof, it does need minimal water every week.
Dividing means digging up the clump carefully not to damage the bulbs and separating them. I usually do keep 2-3 bulbs together just in case. I would cut off the yellow leaves. If it was amaryllis, I would cut off all the leaves if the bulbs were still plump.

Landscape fabric helps with weeds, but for me it makes it hard to water unless you have a drip system under the fabric. Fertilizer will get washed off the fabric, you should put the fertilizer as close to the plant as possible or use a water soluble fertilizer. I use a slow release fertilizer. It has less chance of burning.

7 inches of rain is more than I usually get even in the monsoon season. I get maybe up to 4 inches at one time. My plants are on a slope so they never flood. I average .05-1 inch a week of rain. This year, I did have to water plants that normally live on rain. It was an exceptionally hot and dry La Nina year. I still lost most of my agapanthus and I have to nurse the survivors to keep them alive. I did have to water my yard this summer, but I still did not water enough. They look shabby, but they did survive and I am hoping the rainy season will help to restore them. I still have to dig mine up and pot them up temporarily until I redo the planting bed.

User avatar
RASelkirk
Full Member
Posts: 37
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2020 5:47 pm
Location: SETX, zone 9b

Sorry! Don't know where I got Roger from, I don't even see a reference now...

I like to tell people we live "between hurricane alley and refinery row". If you remember back a couple years, to Hurricane Harvey, we got 59" of rain (our yearly average) in 1 week. Two years later, Imelda dropped another 26" here in a couple days time. Followed a few months later by the TPC plant explosion (3/4 mile from us) that destroyed hundreds of homes. So, no shortage of rain (or excitement) around here!

I'm gonna try trimming the yellow at least and see how they respond. Supposed to drop into the 30's Tuesday morning, so they'll prolly go dormant 'til spring.

Russ



Return to “Perennials”