Agapanthus africanus ‘Twister’

We’ve had our eye on Agapanthus ‘Twister’ for a while. It’s a fantastic plant that brings a really distinctive look, with dense heads of trumpet-shaped flowers that are a rich blue in the throat, fading to pure white on the edges of the petals. The flowers appear from mid-summer on strong, upright stems above clumps of strap-like green leaves. It’s a reliable performer that bulks up nicely year after year.

This is a fairly compact variety, with the foliage forming a clump around 50cm high and the flower stems reaching up to 60-70cm. It’s a deciduous type, so the leaves will die back in winter. For the best results, give it a spot in full sun in well-drained soil. It doesn’t like to be waterlogged, especially over winter, so adding a bit of grit for drainage when planting is a good idea if you have heavy soil.

Once established, ‘Twister’ is reasonably drought-tolerant but appreciates a good water during the growing season. To keep things looking tidy, you can remove the flower stems once they’ve faded. We think it looks great planted in drifts in a gravel garden or in a large container on the patio, where it really makes a statement.