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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Alys Fowler

Ask Alys: how do I make my agapanthus flower?

Photograph of agapanthus in a pot
‘Be patient and allow your agapanthus to grow into their roomy conditions.’ Photograph: Alamy

I planted a few agapanthus bulbs last spring in a large pot with new potting compost, but they only produced leaves. Should I dig them up and replant?

Agapanthus doesn’t want to be neglected altogether, but does take its time. Then when you’ve almost given up on it, the flowers do their thing and you remember why you like agapanthus so much.

As far as a pot is concerned, agapanthus likes to be hugged very tightly and baked in the sun in a very small container – a strange sort of fetish, but when you understand that agapanthus grows in very free-draining rocky spots in South Africa with small root space, it makes more sense. And you need to keep agapanthus on a strict diet: it may be that your compost is a little too rich at present, and as the nutrients are used up, flowers will follow. 

But mostly I think you’re imagining a big fat pot of agapanthus, such as the sort you see in glossy magazines; these are large, established specimens and you have a few bulbs. Plants dislike being endlessly disturbed, so don’t dig them up. Be patient, and allow your agapanthus to grow into their roomy conditions.

Got a question for Alys? Email askalys@theguardian.com.

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