HOW TO GROW AGAPANTHUS FROM SEED

As beautiful as agapanthus are, and some of the darker blue hybrids are truly divine in my opinion, they can be expensive. In fact if you are planning on planting a drift of Agapanthus then you may find this to be prohibitively expensive. However, all is not lost as you can easily grow Agapanthus from seed for next to nothing.

Growing Agapanthus from seed

Dividing Agapanthus root ball

The easiest way to propagate Agapanthus is to divide and transplant the root clumps in April or May, but this would suggest that you would have Agapanthus already. If you are on a budget and do not have access to parent stock then growing Agapanthus from seed has to be your best bet.

Agapanthus seeds will germinate readily enough, but be aware that agapanthus seedlings may take two or three years before they reach flowering size.

You can either purchase your seed (that way you will know exactly what you are planting) or harvest your own Agapanthus seed in late autumn after the seed pods have turned brown.

Keep them in a dry location indoors until the pods split open, then remove the seeds and store in a cool, dry place until early spring.

Sow Agapanthus seeds during April in pots containing a good quality seed compost such as John Innes 'Seed and Cutting'.  You may wish to mix some horticultural grit or perlite to improve the drainage further at this point.

Growing Agapanthus from seed

Sprinkle Agapanthus seeds on top of the soil and add 1/4 inch of the potting mixture on top. Add water slowly, taking care not to push the seeds too deeply into the soil.

Relocated you pots to a position that will receive at least 6 hours of sunlight per day and a temperature of between 13-15 degrees Celsius. Water regularly, but only when the surface turns dry and not so much that the compost becomes waterlogged.

When they are large enough to handle, prick out the seedlings into boxes. Transfer the young plants into 9 cm pots using a good quality potting compost such as John Innes 'No 1', and when they out grow these they can be further potted on into 12 cm pots.

Overwinter these under protection so that they are in a frost free environment and then they will be big enough to be planted outside in the following spring.

For related articles click onto the following links:
AGAPANTHUS
GROW AGAPANTHUS 'HEADBOURNE HYBRIDS' SEED
HOW TO GROW AGAPANTHUS FROM SEED
How to Overwinter Agapanthus