Several years ago my mother bought me some, and I was thrilled with the way they bloomed in a pot in Central Ohio.

I overwintered them the first winter in the house and they survived, but didn't look so hot and didn't bloom the next summer.

I overwintered them in a cold room this winter and they never went dormant, but... they don't look so great now. We'll see if they bloom.

I'll try buying them again, but I don't think I'll try to overwinter them in the future. But if you're sending them, your friend probably has nothing to lose!

I overwintered mine in a pot in front of my sliders in the family room which go out to a enclosed sunporch facing south. Mine never got ratty looking and never stopped growing. I can't wait to see them bloom!

Here in central Ohio a generic Agapanthus (labeled only as A. umbellatus) has overwintered and flowered here the last two years with minimal protection. Seedlings from a strain sold as "hardy" survived their first winter but have not yet made an appearance this season. So I think hardier sorts are worth a shot, especially in protected locations.

I am astonished to report I've got agapanthus from last summer popping up in the garden at work -- despite the frigid, snowy February we had!

These aren't the specifically hardy ones (Headbourne hybrids, or something like that.) These were generic, out-of-a-barrel at the garden center agapanthus. Admittedly, they didn't bloom last summer, but I attributed that to getting them in the ground really late.

This is a very special location; south facing slope with excellent drainage, backed and surrounded by orange brick. So it's probably cheating the zone a great deal. But still, I'm excited, and I'm going back to the garden center to get a whole lot more! (I mean after the threatened snow this weekend....)