Agapanthus is not really a weed, of course. It’s more of an ornamental flower, and a pretty nice one too, in its place. It is, for example, better able than almost anything else to handle the carbon monoxide laden atmosphere in the middle of a busy motorway. That’s why we see so many planted there, and looking very pretty too. The problem, however, is that agapanthus often does not stay in its place, and even when it does stay it can be just like an unwelcome guest; it’s damned hard to get rid of when you’ve had about enough of it!

For more information on how to control Agapanthus see our Weed File - Agapanthus

The agapanthus is also often spread via contaminated soil containing fragments of the rhizome structure, and via any carelessly dumped vegetative matter.


MANUAL CONTROL

It’s quite feasible, although hard work, to remove scattered agapanthus plants manually. They must, however, be totally dug out, taking care to remove all possible traces of the root system. All of the removed material must be taken from the site and disposed of in a proper refuse transfer station (this material must NOT be treated as ‘green waste’). It is very likely that you will still have to do some follow-up spraying after manual removal because there will nearly always be some regrowth no matter how careful you are to remove everything.

HERBICIDE CONTROL

Cut and Paste

You can easily cut the agapanthus and treat the cut stems with Cut'n'Paste Picloram Gel.  Hold the bottle of Cut'n'Paste Picloram Gel upside down, squeeze gently and apply 4-5mm thick coating on the cut surface.  

Spraying

Most authorities confirm that agapanthus is very difficult to get rid of, even with powerful sprays. Common recommendations are for glyphosate, metsulfuron-methyl (MSF600) and triclopyr (Triclo).

Our experience is that they all will work, but that glyphosate and MSF600 are more effective at some times than at others. Some customers have had excellent results with these products, and others have been disappointed, for reasons that neither they nor we can explain.

We, therefore, have only one recommendation to make:

Triclo  at 300ml/100L water, with SuperWetter at 100ml/100L water

Results with Triclo have been excellent, and appear to be far more reliable than any other option. We’ve included a picture to show the effectiveness of a single application of Triclo at that rate on a quite dense stand of agapanthus.