dallas arboretum

So I'm minding my own business on the deck the other day, and whaddya know? My Bluestorm™ agapanthus threw out a second flush of blooms.

Here I thought I was so cool and edgy, growing this Zone 9-11 tropical (also called Lily of the Nile) in my humble, little Zone 6a garden in upstate New York. Turns out this tropical beauty is just perfect for colder climates like mine, with the exception of having to overwinter them inside.

But big whoop – I'm already doing that here with my Bonfire^® begonias, Tropicanna^® cannas and tropical houseplants like croton and bromeliads. And many of my gardening friends do the same with their elephant ears, angel trumpet, hibiscus and other houseplants. (For more information on overwintering tropicals indoors, see this great article from the University of Illinois Extension).

While I thought my barrier to growing agapanthus (or other tropical plants) was the cold winter temperatures, Texans, I learned, have the opposite problem – too much heat (in the summer, at night). At least that's what I learned at the Dallas Arboretum this past month during a tour there with other Garden Writers Association' members attending the group's annual symposium downtown (check out some pics from the tour at Red Dirt Ramblings, Floradora and Gardening with Confidence).

"We went through all the agapanthus years ago, and killed them all – except Bluestorm," says Jimmy Turner, Senior Director of Gardens for the arboretum. "It's the only one we have in our display gardens."

At a compact 30 inches, Bluestorm is "the perfect little height," he says. "Some of the agapanthus we've had are up here at my height (6 feet) with huge umbels that fall over in the wind. And you get one flower stalk instead of five or six."

Bluestorm agapanthus in containers

Turner also loves Bluestorm for its great foliage, multi-heading flower stems (as many as a hundred stems on one 5-year-old plant) and quick growth.

In Texas, he added, Bluestorm agapanthus also has a second flush – and sometimes even a third flush – of blooms. "The first flush here happens about April-May and lasts for six to seven weeks. Then about the end of May, we get a second flush for about four to six weeks. After that they go into summer dormancy, and occasionally we get a third spike of blooms around September-October."

For Turner, Bluestorm is the perfect container plant. "In our zone, it's a perennial, so it's also great to leave in the garden … we like to give it a little afternoon shade."

When it comes to designing with agapanthus, Turner recommends a more formal approach. "It needs to be grouped tightly in a square, triangle or centerpiece. (Bluestorm's consistent height makes it perfect for this).

Bluestorm agapanthus in massed plantings

"Agapanthus is a diva," he jokes. "It's so striking, it doesn't blend well with other plants … We use a lot of variegated liriope and groundcovers with it, just to really showcase it."

"Tesselaar's new Everest™ carex would also be a good pairing with that," I added, not so subtly. "You're right," laughed Turner. "It would."

And who knew? Agapanthus is the designer must-have item in Europe: "Blue and purple varieties have been really popular in recent years, and that trend looks set to continue," said Claire Smith, plant area manager for Sanders Garden World in Somerset, England (in this June 2009 article in Horticulture Week). And they've long been a mainstay in places like California and Australia.

In the UK and Australia, garden designers and florists love agapanthus' architectectural shape and even use the flower after the petals have fallen off. And with so many flowers on a single plant, Bluestorm has become a cutting garden favorite for this very reason. 

Sounds like Bluestorm's more workhorse than diva! Tell me what you think … have you grown agapanthus? Did it work well for you? Post a comment and tell me!