Agapanthus Africanus ‘Snow Pixie’ (Lily of the Nile)

A nice miniature version of the classic Lily of the Nile which grows, over a couple of years, to 50cm height and spread. It is hardy with handsome strappy green leaves, and in late summer it will send up proud little puffballs of white lily-shaped flowers.

‘Snow Pixie’ is a good choice for a container and there’s something about a good proper terracotta planter filled with these that just works. There’s a guaranteed and everlasting joy in the deep-green strappyness of these plants when combined with good honest clay. Smashing in gravelly gardens, too where again the combination of foliar lushness and crunchy mineral just sings.

Thanks to its smaller stature you can have a lot of these in quite a bijou space so they are excellent for courtyards and balconies. Definitely don’t be too enthusiastic with pot size though: as with all Agapanthus, they do like their roots and downstairs business to be quite squeezed. Repot only when they’re positively hauling themselves out of their planter.

If you’d like to try them in the ground, feel free. Make sure you plant them in full sun and in a position sheltered from the north winds. Very happy in moist but well drained soil.

N.B. When clipping several plants with the same tool, have a bucket containing a 5% bleach solution and swish your blades around for 30 seconds between plants to sterilise them. This will help avoid the chance of cross contamination of disease.

As with all woody plants, plant high, exposing as much of the taper at the base of the trunk as possible. Allowing soil to accumulate round the base of a tree can be fatal. Keep very well-watered when first planted.