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liegia

Lily of the nile

liegia
17 years ago

Just today I bought a lily of the nile, which was very exciting since I've never seen them around my area. I live in Nova Scotia near the coast, so needless to say it won't over winter in the ground. The only problem is I don't know what to do with it once the frost comes. Has anyone ever grown lily of the nile in a zone 5 area? and if so can you please help me figure out what to do for winter. Should I bring it in altogether or shoudl I risk leaving it out and heavily mulching?It says its hardy to -23 degress celcius.

Comments (6)

  • rosco_p
    17 years ago

    Liegia: I live in zone 6(Southern Ontario) and I bring my potted Agapanthus (lilly of the Nile) into my attached garage for the winter. It sits on a shelf near a window but basically sits dormant for this period. I water it ocassinally if I remember. It has survived two winters with this treatment and seems to be doing good although I have yet to experience it bloom. Hope this helps. Ross.

  • tegwyn
    17 years ago

    I was just at a nursery last week and the owner sucessfully over-wintered an agapanthus for 2 years now in her display beds. It was just beginning to bloom. She said she just mulched it in the fall.

  • ianna
    17 years ago

    It's not hardy in our zone. Although with some luck it can be overwintered outside, it's probably best to bring it indoors. Our climate is basically changing. We've experienced warmer winters but that's not to say what it can be like in the future. So my advise is to err on the side of caution. We've been pushing the envelope so to speak with many plants that are not normally hardy here but it only takes one particularly cold winter day to kill it.

    Ianna

  • bonniepunch
    17 years ago

    I wouldn't try to overwinter it outside unless you had lots of extras, and were prepared to lose them. Especially in NS. It'll rot in the cold, wet and freezing conditions there.

    I've overwintered it in conditions similar to rosco_p. Cool to cold with a *very* light watering about once every six to eight weeks. Take it out of storage a month before you'd normally be putting plants outside, and put it somewhere on the warm side (15C). Give it some water, and start putting it out when the days are 10C or more.

    To get it to bloom, it needs to be fairly crowded, and it likes as much heat as you can give it. Feeding it 1/4 strength fertilizer every third watering helps a lot too.

    I believe that the nursery that claimed to have overwintered it outside may have done so, but I'll bet they had a very favourable microclimate, and they were lucky. The last couple of winters were not that cold - a lot of marginal plants made it through in great shape. I wouldn't try it at all, but I'm in 5a.

    Agapanthus is a fast grower, so in a couple of years, you may very well have lots of extras. Then you might want to try experimenting with leaving some of it out. Who knows - maybe you have a good microclimate too.

    BP

  • ninamarie
    17 years ago

    It's hardier than claimed to be. Mine overwintered last year with no mulch and good snow cover. It's flowering now.
    My friends at Keppelcroft gardens, near Wiarton, have had theirs outside for years.
    http://www.keppelcroft.com/
    I have also successfully overwintered it as a house plant (bloomed in March), have brought it indoors and overwintered it successfully in our unheated basement. And I overwintered it for several years inside an unheated cold frame with no protection. (That's often much harder on plants than any other method.)

  • ninamarie
    8 years ago

    As an update to this comment, I planted three more in a new garden Nov. 26 2013. All three are alive after two very severe winters and I expect all three to flower this year.

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