Agapanthus is screw for its big blooms , thick roots , and dazzle color .
This plant is hardy by nature so it has plenty of leeway for the wintertime .
When grown in zones 9 - 11 , agapanthus does n’t need much additional care for the cold weather .
But if you ’re in a lower geographical zone , you ’ll have to give a scrap more TLC to deal for it during the wintertime .
Agapanthus can be both deciduous or evergreen , depending on the species you ’re growing .
They ’re native to South Africa , but they can thrive in the cold regions with a fleck of help from you .
you’re able to do a little like mulching or using a insensate frame .
Or you could do a slew like wind their medulla to stack away in a temperature - safe environs ( like indoors ) .
like to most bulbous plants , they can be safely put into a cozy loge fill with substrate for wintertime storage .
countenance ’s go over the different things you could do to winter and care for your agapanthus during the frigid time of year !
Last updated : 10/27/21 .
Guide capacity
Can agapanthus be left outside in winter?
It look on the character of agapanthus you ’re growing .
If you do n’t know your geographical zone , recover out .
Even if you ’re in the “ right ” zone , note that unfold periods of inhuman will kill your plants .
They can handle temporary dips as downcast as -10F or so , but if it douse lower or remains that way , then your plant is at risk of exposure .
Being part of the amaryllis menage , they ’re used to colder atmospheric condition . So that ’s good .
Perhaps you ’re in a colder area , and you ’re question how your agapanthus is going to go down when the tempest comes .
It ’s pretty scary if you ’ve “ grown ” on your plant !
What happens to agapanthus during the cold season?
It ’s one of two things , depending on the variety show :
Deciduous agapanthus will simply die back on their own . The rhizomes are shielded from the cold under the stain line , so it does n’t get killed by the low temperature .
These are less work liken to evergreen species and you do n’t need to do as much work for these plant .
Evergreen agapanthus will keep their foliage out during the winter time , as they ’re brilliant and showy .
This will make them vulnerable to the low temperature and will require you to make some adjustments to protect them .
The intemperate way to state the difference between the two is by raise the lightbulb . The well-to-do means ? Just correspond the leave when the winter comes .
Are they starting to droop and evanesce because of the cold ?
If so , then you ’re likely growing a deciduous flora .
If they seem to ignore the coldness and keep their coloring throughout the winter , then it ’s probably evergreen .
evergreen plant are the ones you need to watch out for . If you leave it out , then it ’ll be harm by the cold . Time to get to work .
How to overwinter agapanthus
This depends on the type of agapanthus variety you ’re growing .
It also intemperately depends on the local precondition during the wintertime time . If you ’re not sure what case you have , you need to find out .
If the plant is evergreen , then you ’ll necessitate to give it some excess attention for the wintertime .
Finding out if it ’s deciduous or evergreen is gentle . you’re able to do it by inspecting the Tuber before wintertime arrives .
Or simply look at the foliage when the cold is here- if it ’s still bright , showy , and full of leaves , then it ’s in all probability adeciduous .
If you’re in a warmer zone
For those in a higher zona where the winters are balmy , you jolly much do n’t need to do anything .
This hardy works will stick out the meek coldness without a trouble . Just leave it alone during the wintertime !
But , you do need to cut it back before the winter comes .
Cutting back the foliage will let it to hibernate during the winter time .
It also arrest bug from wipe out the dead leaves . Cut back your agapanthus to just the scanty root .
hatch the exposed stem with a layer of constitutive mulch to at least 2 inches . Mark the area so you do n’t trample it .
When the fountain come , remove the mulch and allow the plant to regrow .
If you ’re acquire evergreen agapanthus , give it a bit of water here and there during the winter .
If the area you ’re in tend to be dry , it ’ll need some weewee to drink in . Use your finger to sense the top 1 ” of soil .
It should be barely wet , but never wholly wry . Do n’t fertilize during the wintertime until spring comes .
you could then begin watering and feeding like usual .
Easy , ripe ?
Wintering evergreen agapanthus
Evergreens will take additional charge . It ’ll call for to be cut back in the summer as soon as gloaming approach .
Do NOT wait until the coldness arrive .
It ’s just an unnecessary risk of infection to take , especially when grown in northern regions where it gets really cold .
The works need to be cut back at the end of summertime or former descent the right way before the cold begins .
Check your forecast and look up your frost dates .
Upon cut back , you ’ll then moil up the roots next .
The tubers should be cleaned .
Use a piano - bristle toothbrush to gently brush off soil that ’s dumbfound on them . Let them dry out out after you clean them .
The ascendant will belike have all sort of contaminating cluster stuck on them plus the moisture from prior waterings .
Keep them somewhere teetotal , fond , and humid - free . you may wrap them in some paper while they dry out .
Keep the spark in the way minimal during this time .
storehouse in a dingy , dry , light - devoid environment . Aim for temperature between 40 - 45F.
When the spring comes , check for mould , fungus , or spore . If you see any , dispose of the bulb because it ’ll be useless .
If everything ’s good to go , then you ’re quick to institute them again for the time of year .
Evergreens are difficult to winter compared to deciduous .
If you ’re in zones 6 - 8 , you ’ll have a tough time getting them to stay outside during the cold .
Zones that stick above 60F should be OK leave them in the soil throughout the winter , but they also need full Lord’s Day .
So if the sun goes aside with those shorter Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , it ’ll suffer .
But if temps are skilful , plus the sun is promising , you may get away doing nothing . Just irrigate it once a week .
Do n’t let it go ironic .
If temperatures fluctuate around that limen , add together some mulch . 2 - 3 inch of organic mulch around the root to serve keep it gracious and warm .
Mini greenhouses , cold frames , or flora hummer are also unspoiled choices .
Smaller agapanthus plants can be covered with a portable greenhouse , without disturbing the plant .
Lastly , you may move your lily of the Nile into a container .
If you place up a impermanent trapping area that has temperatures around 60F with 12 hours of sun per day , then you could keep your evergreen going through the winter .
practice a grow light for plants if you do n’t have the sunlight to give it . When the spring derive , move it back to the original emplacement .
This is to be used as a last holiday resort . It ’s not good for the plant life to constantly move it . So deflect doing so if possible .
One ready to hand baksheesh is to use container to grow your evergreen agapanthus .
This makes it a lot more commodious because you could simply move the container when the coldness comes .
You also do n’t postulate to extirpate it and pot with the root each time the cold come . The pot can be work inside your house when the winter comes .
This saves you a net ton of time plus reduces flora electric shock .
Be trusted to provide some luminousness by range agapanthus next to a window in your house .
Do n’t fertilize during this time , but continue to water at a reduced pace .
Wintering deciduous agapanthus
Deciduous variants will ask to be curve back .
When it turns icteric , reduce it back , but not too early .
It should start to pall back on its own . When the leaves commence to wilt and shift colour , then it ’s meter to cut .
If you do it before it will , it wo n’t have enough energy salt away for the winter .
As you’re able to see , deciduous agapanthus is a lot easier to winter vs. evergreens .
If you ’re in zone 8 or higher , then you should be OK following this plan of care .
If temperatures stay between 40 - 50F degrees or so , then you do n’t need to do anything else .
The leaves will have stack away vim for the next season lay in in their rhizomes .
This is why it ’s authoritative to wait until the leaves have ferment color before you cut it back to a few in from the soil line .
Without any leaves , it ca n’t generate any vigor during the wintertime . Therefore , light does n’t matter .
Whether it ’s completely dark or bright , the plant life does n’t deal . It ca n’t photosynthesize anyway .
However , just irrigate it once every 2 week or so . This will prevent it from going completely wry , which you do n’t need .
If you ’re in a lower zona , such as 7 or lower , then add some mulch to it .
2 - 3 inches is good enough . It ’ll screen it from the cold by isolate the temperature golf stroke at night time .
If temperatures stay above 40F , then you ’re OK .
If it dip further , your works may be in trouble .
You may have to total superfluous mulch . you could habituate barque or stubble as a stand-in if you do n’t have mulch .
you could also lift the rhizomes and then put them in the newspaper publisher .
clean house the root , dry out them , then roll them generally .
Get a boxwood and satisfy it with sawdust . Then gently place the rhizome in there singly .
you could add something like sulphur to help prevent any fungous issuing during storage .
Do n’t let the rhizomes tint each other . Put the box somewhere around 45F. Keep it cold , dingy , and wry .
There ’s no pauperism to add water .
The easy solution ?
Growing agapanthus in pots!All you need to do is move the container inside your house and you ’re set !
Not literally in spite of appearance , but somewhere that still has stale exposure , like your deck . Agapanthus call for to be expose to common cold so it goes dormant in the winter .
If you keep it waken the entire fourth dimension , it will produce small blooms next spring . temperature around 45F should be enough to simulate the quiescency threshold .
When the spring comes and the last frost is over , then you may move it back to your garden .
Some people will suggest transplanting the integral plant to a new container . This is potential but is a lot more work than it needs to be .
You grease one’s palms a raw container and then move the flora to the newfangled pot .
The newfangled temperature location require drain .
You sit around in there for the wintertime until leap fare . Then you move it back out .
Agapanthus does n’t like to be proceed around , so that ’s why I do n’t like this way of doing thing . It can involve the flush calibre .
Other common questions about winter care for agapanthus
Here are some commonly asked interrogative from readers about take care of these plants during the wintertime .
Do I cut my agapanthus plant back in winter?
For deciduous varieties , you do n’t need to write out them back until after they set forth to wilt on their own .
commend , they need to harvest get-up-and-go from the sunlight with whatever ’s left of their leave .
They store it for the winter inside the rootstock .
So do n’t cut them back early on . They wilt on their own , so they ’ll of course evidence you when they ’re ready to be disregard back .
Once they ’re done , then you may cut them back to 2 - 3 inches from the soil melody . Easy enough
For evergreens , you ’ll need to cut them back .
They keep their leaves throughout the winter .
If you do n’t plan on act them to a sheltered shoes , then you should abbreviate the leave back because they ’ll probably unload them on their own .
See each incision for details above .
When should I cut down my agapanthus?
abridge it down when it start to wilt on its own .
When the leave call on brownish or lily-livered and drop , then it ’s time to cut back if it ’s deciduous .
If it ’s evergreen plant , write out it back when the cold is here .
What do you do with potted agapanthus in the winter?
It count where you experience .
You have multiple options :
Caring for agapanthus in pots winter care
If you ’re develop your lily of the Nile in containers , congrats , you ’ve got it easy .
Just move them somewhere where the temperature are around 45F throughout the wintertime .
If you ’re growing evergreens in pots :
Give it water when the top in of soil goes barely dry . Stop all fertilizing . Keep it under a grow brightness level for up to 14 hours per day .
If you ’re develop deciduous in can :
Water once every 2 - 3 weeks . block off fertilizing . Keep it in a dour surface area .
Container grow is nerveless because you may easily move it around as demand .
If you grow it in a big enough pot , you never ask to upgrade it either .
Remember that agapanthus does n’t like to be eradicate .
How cold of a dip in temperature can agapanthus take?
This varies count on the variety you ’re growing , but they can take cold swings down to -10F on median .
mark that these should not be the typical all-night temperatures .
They ca n’t support themselves when it ’s this cold constantly .
But a insensate swing here and there is all right .
Further reading/references
Overwinter without worry
Now that you know all the basics of wintertime attention for your agapanthus , you’re able to keep it safely without vexation !
Although those growing deciduous agapanthus will have a much soft time , evergreen plant can keep on to bring about those pretty leaves during the wintertime if you ’re continue them alert unnaturally .
There ’s always a chip of a nicety depend on where you ’re produce , your local clime , and the type of agapanthus you ’re overwintering .
get questions ? place them below and ask away !
If you have any tips to portion out with other referee , post them as well .
I ’ve always been concerned in horticulture , but I never take it seriously until I was forcefully gifted an orchid . This was what start me into the hobby and I ’ve never looked back . I enjoy writing about it , but not nearly as much as getting into the soil and grave the unadulterated ornamental ornamental to savor for the time .
