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Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis 'Silver Streak' (Silver Streak Lily of the Nile) – A vigorous hardy evergreen perennial that grows in a clump to 18 to 24 inches tall by about 3 feet wide with with undulating variegated leaves that are over 1 inch wide and 24 to 30 inch long having strong cream-colored margins and narrower cream striations on the green center of the leaf. In early to mid-summer appear the medium-sized blue flowers in clusters called a pseudo-umbel on top 3-4-foot-tall stalks called scapes. The flowers on this variety rarely sets seed, leaving clean looking decorative starbursts of bare peduncles on top of the scapes.
Plant in full coastal sun to light shade and irrigate regularly to occasionally - will withstand drier conditions but look considerably better with moderate watering. Hardy to 20-25 degrees F and should prove root hardy to much lower temperatures - we have been told by Tony Avent that it has overwintered when mulched at his Juniper Level Garden in Raleigh NC (USDA zone 7b). This plant with exceptionally broad leaves makes a colorful and bold statement in the garden.
The name Agapanthus is derived from the Greek words 'agapé', meaning "love" or "friendship" and 'anthos', meaning "flower" and it is for this reason that "Love Flower" is sometimes given as its common name, though there does not seem to be any colloquial usage of this name and the reason for naming as such remains unclear. Some have suggested that the translation could be interpreted as "lovely flower", "flower of love" or if the name originated from the word 'Agapeo' which means "to be contented with" it could just refer to a flower Charles Louis L'Héritier, who first used the name Agapanthus. A good accounting of this is presented by Wim Snoeijer in his Agapanthus: A Revision of the Genus Timber Press 2004 but essentially Carl Linnaeus (the father of modern taxonomy) in 1753 published the name Crinum africanum for a plant likely brought back to Holland from the Cape of Good Hope by the year 1679. In 1789 Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle, the Director of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, changed the name of this plant to Agapanthus but used the invalid specific epithet umbellatus instead of preserving Linnaeus species name africanus. This mistake has perpetuated naming problems within the genus ever since. In addition, the common "Lily of the Nile" is often used for this plant even though this plant originated in South Africa and not along the Nile River.
Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis 'Silver Streak' was selected as a chance seedling at our nursery in 1994 from our seed grown Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis crop. We built up stock for 5 years before naming it 'Silver Streak' and then introduced it in 1999. A similar plant later discovered growing at F.K Nursery in Los Angeles in the late 1990s was given to Monrovia Nursery, who introduced it in 2012 with the cultivar name 'MonKageyama' and using one of their trademarked marketing names. Some have commented that it appears quite similar to our Silver Streak. 'MonKageyama' is indeed a very nice plant with broad leaves and cream margins but differs in that it does not have the undulating leaves that are characteristic of 'Silver Streak'. We have grown and sold 'Silver Streak' continuously since introducing it in 1999.
The information displayed on this page about Agapanthus praecox ssp orientalis 'Silver Streak' is based on the research we conducted about it in our nursery horticultural library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include some of our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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