The African lily (Agapanthus) is also known as the African lily in this country, as its magnificent flowers adorn the garden in a particularly elegant way in midsummer. You can harvest the seeds of the plants for propagation, but there is an alternative for this type of plant.

The decision between abundance of flowers and ripe seeds

Ideally, you should plant your African lily in a medium-sized planter and place it in a location that is as sunny as possible. Unless they are freshly propagated by division, you should be able to admire numerous flowers in summer with appropriate fertilization. If you immediately cut off faded flowers, the plant has more energy to produce more flowers.

Grow the African lily from seed

If you leave the wilted blossoms on your African lilies in late summer and autumn, you can harvest the ripe seeds before they go into winter. Keep them in a dry and well-ventilated container over the winter. The following year, sow the seeds in February or March in a seed tray on the windowsill. Take care of:

  • a bright location
  • sufficient moisture
  • even temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius

The seeds will germinate after about 4 weeks, another 3 months later you can separate the young plants into small pots.

The alternative to propagation by seed

Propagation by seed plays a rather subordinate role in the African lily. This is not least due to the fact that there can be around 4 to 6 years between the sowing of the seeds and the first flowers of the plants grown from them. You can save yourself the time-consuming care of the plants during this long period if you instead rely on propagating the African lily by dividing the root rhizome. Offshoots propagated by division can sometimes bloom again in the second year.

tips and tricks

You can tell when the agapanthus seeds are ripe by the brown color of the capsules. These triangular capsules open slightly as soon as the seeds are ripe and therefore germinable.

Category:

Vegetable garden