For Endless Spring Blooms, Use These Tips For Overwintering Your Agapanthus Plants

Agapanthus (Agapanthus spp.) is a perennial that blooms with gorgeous purple flowers in the spring, adding texture, height, and color to your yard. However, when the weather gets cold, there are certain things you need to do to ensure your agapanthus survives the winter. Although it thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11, this plant can suffer when grown in areas with frost. Thankfully, overwintering your agapanthus is relatively straightforward if they are in containers. There are a few steps involved, however. Firstly, you need to figure out if it is evergreen or deciduous. If the leaves are turning and dying in the fall, it is probably deciduous. However, if they are looking bright and strong, it may be an evergreen. Both types should be taken to their winter location before the first frost. 

If your agapanthus is an evergreen variety, move it into your greenhouse or conservatory. It needs to be somewhere where temperatures are around 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, with enough bright light to keep it happy over the winter months. Water it throughout the winter to prevent its leaves from drying out or wilting. 

If you own a deciduous type of agapanthus, it will be going into dormancy over winter, so you should move it to a cooler, darker location. In fact, you basement may be a surprisingly great spot for these types of plants, especially if temperatures stay around 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. You don't need to water them that much during the winter, but ensure that the soil isn't completely dry. In the spring, once the threat of frost has passed, you can take your agapanthus outside again. 

If you keep your agapanthus in garden beds, you have a few options depending on where you live and the variety you have. Some deciduous hybrids can be grown year-round in zones 6 to 11. If you know the specific type of agapanthus and are certain it is winter hardy in your area, simply mulch around it to prepare it for winter. 

However, if you don't want to risk it or are unsure of your cultivar, you should dig up this perennial to bring indoors before winter and place it in a sheltered location. Do this before the first frost, beginning the process with a little prune and tidy up. Then, carefully dig around the agapanthus until you clear away to the rhizomes. Lift the rhizomes out of the ground, place them in a pot, and add some soil. Move the container to the best location for its variety. As mentioned, for evergreens, you need a bright, warmer location, but deciduous ones suit cooler, darker places. When the spring comes around, you can replant your agapanthus in the flower bed to bring your outdoor space to life.