my agapanthus are just starting to go to seed, I would like to grow some more, how do I go about it, do I cut off the seed heads now and let them dry out before planting them or should I leave seed heads on. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Leave them on the plant until the seed pods naturally start opening by themselves - the seeds will be black when ripe. Sow the seeds immediately (they don't store well) on the top of a pot of gritty compost and cover with a layer of grit. They will germinate quite quickly and can be overwintered in a cold greenhouse or coldframe.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
Hi Bev, you will need to leave the seed head on the plant for the seeds to mature and dry. If you pick the seed heads whilst still green the seeds will not be viable inside. So leave until the stalk and seed heads are brown and dry, and the seed cases are papery and you can see the black seeds which resemble little tadpoles. Then pick carefully the whole seed head and store in a brown paper bag, don't forget to label, until you wish to sow. They germinate easily, I've had them pop up in cracks in the patio. I only leave one stalk on a agapanthus plant to go to seed properly, l feel this conserves the plants energy for the following summer's plants.
What variety of agapanthus do you have? I'm just being nosy because they are one of my favourite plants.?
thanks, will leave them on the plant then, I have blue Africanus and white ones Polar Ice and other blue ones but can't remember which? But they are one of my favourites until my son breaks the stems playing football in the garden!!
I got a couple of dozen seedlings each from mine , blue and white , collected last autumn and sown on the 6th January, all germinated, very easy to grow. Potted on now and making nice sized plants.
I'm not sure if they grow true to colour from seeds but I don't mind what I get, it's worth a try.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Posts
Leave them on the plant until the seed pods naturally start opening by themselves - the seeds will be black when ripe. Sow the seeds immediately (they don't store well) on the top of a pot of gritty compost and cover with a layer of grit. They will germinate quite quickly and can be overwintered in a cold greenhouse or coldframe.
Hi Bev, you will need to leave the seed head on the plant for the seeds to mature and dry. If you pick the seed heads whilst still green the seeds will not be viable inside. So leave until the stalk and seed heads are brown and dry, and the seed cases are papery and you can see the black seeds which resemble little tadpoles. Then pick carefully the whole seed head and store in a brown paper bag, don't forget to label, until you wish to sow. They germinate easily, I've had them pop up in cracks in the patio. I only leave one stalk on a agapanthus plant to go to seed properly, l feel this conserves the plants energy for the following summer's plants.
What variety of agapanthus do you have? I'm just being nosy because they are one of my favourite plants.?
thanks, will leave them on the plant then, I have blue Africanus and white ones Polar Ice and other blue ones but can't remember which? But they are one of my favourites until my son breaks the stems playing football in the garden!!
I got a couple of dozen seedlings each from mine , blue and white , collected last autumn and sown on the 6th January, all germinated, very easy to grow. Potted on now and making nice sized plants.
I'm not sure if they grow true to colour from seeds but I don't mind what I get, it's worth a try.
They're fairly promiscuous and the resulting plants may not look anything like those you have now. Some might be, some better, some not so.
You need to be patient too as they can take some years to get to flowering size.
I was given two clumps of agapanthus by my neighbour. They self seed in her garden so much as to be a nuisance and she'd dug them up to throw away!
nuisance? Agapanthus are fine as long as you cut the flower head off soon as they have started to go to seed.