Why Won't My Lily of the Nile Bloom?

Lily of the Nile is a flowering ornamental with large, round blooms.

Lily of the Nile, also known as Agapanthus, is an ornamental with large globe-shape flowers. This flower grows from rhizomes and blooms in summer. When your lily of the Nile does not bloom, it may be due to root spacing, fertilizer or disease problems.

Rhizomes

Lily of the Nile does not bloom if the plant roots or rhizomes are too crowded or too sparse. When crowded roots push up out of the ground, they cannot reach the soil nutrients. Divide the plant into smaller clumps for new plants. Lily of the Nile will not bloom if it has too few rhizomes to support both leaves and flowers.

Fertilizer

Lily of the Nile thrives in fertile soil. Feed lightly with balanced liquid fertilizer during the growing season. Too much fertilizer, especially nitrogen, promotes lush foliage at the expense of flowers.

Disease

When your lily of the Nile has few flowers, soft stems and pale leaves, it may have a fungus disease. Remove sick plants, aerate the soil and replant with disease-resistant varieties.

References

• Royal Horticulture Society: Agapanthus Problems
• North Carolina State University: Agapanthus Facts
• University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, Master Gardener Program: Agapanthus