Plant Library

Other Names:  Lily of the Nile, African Lily

Description:

This variety produces a mound of luxurious narrow green foliage; blue flowers with darker blue stripes appear in mid-summer on towering stems; a perfect accent plant in the garden or massed along borders; grows taller in mild climates

Ornamental Features

Midnight Blue Agapanthus features bold clusters of blue trumpet-shaped flowers with royal blue stripes rising above the foliage from early to mid summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its narrow leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Midnight Blue Agapanthus is an herbaceous perennial with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Midnight Blue Agapanthus is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Midnight Blue Agapanthus will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity extending to 18 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Midnight Blue Agapanthus is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.