I've got a couple of large pots of Lily of the Nile. One pot contains the full sized the other the dwarf variety. According to a site I visited when looking to see how to propagate from seed I noticed:


Season: Perennial
USDA Zones: 6 - 10
Height: 32 inches
Bloom Season: Summer
Bloom Color: Blue
Environment: Full sun
Soil Type: Well-drained, pH 5.8 - 7.2

Two questions, has anyone here in Central Texas or anywhere else in Texas grown these in the ground and not have them die when winter comes. Secondly, has anyone grown them from seed? If so, what's the method you use?

Chris, I've seen Agapanthus growing in the ground in the Austin, San Antonio, and Houston areas where it seems to do well. I'm growing it. Mine is in a large clay pot. I've left it out on multiple occasions in below 32F temperatures. I have brought it inside in the garage for cold spells that get into the teens or when the cold spell is predicted to be one of long duration. I think in your area it would normally do okay in normal weather, but might need a little extra protection on the rare cold spells that drop too low or last too long. I think it might benefit, much like Amaryllis, if it could be located in a south or southwest facing location which would naturally give it a break from the coldest temps. That's just my opinion based on how mine is performing and on how I've seen it growing otherwise. Mine was hit by the low 20sF this year, but that was not enough to kill all the foliage nor send it completely into dormancy. I did have it inside for the night where the temps were between 10-11F. A container gets colder than an in ground situation and I don't trust it. Also, I think freezing temps delay how soon you will see bloom.

Thanks Donald, mine are really filling out now that they're away for the winter. I try not to let it get much below 50 in the greenhouse during the winter. If I can get any of these seeds to germinate I've got a good spot in the front of the house that faces south. I may divide those in the pots this spring and put some in the ground to see how it goes also.

I think those in the greenhouse will bloom sooner. The place where I acquired mine when I got it didn't sell all they had and theirs overwintered in the greenhouse. I didn't let mine freeze, but the winter storage conditions were much colder with a lot less light than those in the greenhouse. Those overwintered in the greenhouse bloomed 6 weeks sooner than mine. I thought my plant wasn't going to bloom, but it did. The ones they still had were finished blooming by the time mine bloomed. I was happy once they bloomed.

That makes sense I guess. The warmer they are the better since they're originally an African plant I believe. They are beautiful when the do bloom though. I'm afraid I may have to repot my large one this spring though as the plastic pot it's in had split and I used Gorilla tape to hold it together.

I live south of Houston and they do well here in pots or in the ground. There actually are quite a few varieties and some are more cold tolerant than others. The problem is mine came from a local nursery or from Lowe's and I do not know what varieties they are, but I can see a difference between plants located next to each other. Although some stay much greener than others through the winter, I have never had one die. Here is a link with some information about the subject:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.c...

Thanks Gary, both of mine came from Lowe's. One is a dwarf species. I've got the tag for the dwarf one I'd have to look at it and see if there is any other information on it. The link was very informative, I think I'll just leave mine in the pots for now. They're really growing a lot this winter in the greenhouse I may divide both of them this spring and as a trial plant a bit of it to see what happens.

Far east Texas here... I'm near the Louisiana border. I kept Aganpanthus in a large container for a few years and they grew fine but rarely bloomed. I was more than disappointed and gave the plants away. These weren't a dwarf but I don't know the cultivar.

That's odd that yours never bloomed. My large one puts out at least 6 or more stalks during the bloom season.

I was disappointed. I really love the bulb flowers and went crazy for a variety of them. Those that disappointed me got shipped. I never did figure out why these didn't deliver the blooms. Good luck with yours. I'll look forward to seeing your photos of the bloomers.

There are two things that can impact the flowering of agapanthus. The first is the application of too much fertilizer. If they get too much nitrogen, the foliage will prosper but blooming will be curtailed. I have seen recommendations to use bone meal as the primary fertilizer and supplement that with a small amount of a balanced fertilizer. Secondly, they need to get a sufficient amount of sunlight.

Here's how mine looked last year. They sit out in the front yard next to our driveway where they get plenty of sun. I really haven't fertilized them at all except the year before I'd added some fish emulsion a couple of times.

@chris1948
This is what my Agapanthus looks like now. It was brought inside for the cold spells that dropped to around 10F, but has been left exposed the rest of the time. It frost burns, but has immediately began growing after it warms up. It's growing in a large clay container. It has managed the cold temps a lot better than I expected. I never see them growing outdoors here, but this one may be worth trying outside. It might survive colder temps in the ground, especially if it could have southern exposure.

That really doesn't look too bad Donald. I see what looks like some new growth. Our house faces N/S with the front facing S. I may look to see if I can find another one this year at Lowes and as an experiment put it in the ground in a kind of protected area. I know that none of my Iris's died off this year. In fact I found this on 2 Jan. If I can't find any at a BB store I can always separate one of mine as they're so huge now.

That is definitely new growth you are seeing. It starts growing instantly as soon as the freezing temps are past. It was above 80F here today. I have a lot of things responding to the days when the temp is getting that warm. It's probably too early, so they may be being set up to suffer a late cold spell at the end of the month or March and maybe even down into April. I'm responding to it myself. I was out clearing off leaves and dead growth which will only encourage new growth and I've been up-sizing some plant containers. I already feel like I'm behind (I actually know I am). In a couple of weeks if not sooner, the cows will begin calving. Spring has already begun to spring. And I'm weeks behind the southern and eastern part of the state.

Sorry Donald, wife wanted to go to Round Rock Good Will this morning to do some clothes shopping and I wanted to look for some garden books. We both lucked out. I've been looking at the low temps on AccuWeather through 4 March and the lowest I've seen is 39. I am really, really itching to start moving thing out of the greenhouses but I just don't want to take any chances yet since it's not even mid Feb. I've got my adult Adeniums that I'd like to move out and I've got 36 babies that need to be potted plus some baby Plumeria. I guess I'll just have to sit on my hands until the time is right and piddle around with other things. Here's a couple of photos of my Lily of the Nile in the greenhouse. There are two pots there but you can't see where they're at as they've grown so much. I'll post better photos whenever I move them out.