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Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis 'Variegata' (Variegated Lily of the Nile) - An evergreen perennial that grows to about 1 foot tall by 2 feet wide with narrow 1/2- to 1-inch-wide variegated leaves that have yellow striations through a greenish mid-rib with yellow margins and bears very pale blue to nearly white flowers in summer to fall on 2-foot-tall stalks.
Plant in full sun to light shade and irrigate regularly to occasionally. Hardy and evergreen to 20-25 degrees F and root hardy with mulching to considerably lower.
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.
We purchased this beautiful Agapanthus from Ed Carman's Nursery in the 1980's and we grew it through 2011.
Information displayed on this page about Agapanthus praecox ssp orientalis 'Variegata' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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