Agapanthus praecox is easy to grow and it does well even in the poorest of soils, but it must receive some water in summer. To perform at its best, give it rich, well-drained soil with ample compost (decayed organic matter) and plenty of water in spring and summer. As with most plants they benefit most from regular (e.g. weekly) deep drenching as opposed to frequent superficial waterings. It prefers full sun, and some cultivars will flower in semi-shade. All the evergreen agapanthus are best lifted and divided every four years or so to ensure flowering. A. praecox will tolerate light frost, but is hardy only in the milder parts of the Northern Hemisphere, like the southwest of England and in the Mediterranean. In areas with extreme winter temperatures they are best grown in the cool greenhouse, or in containers that can be taken into a greenhouse during winter.

Agapanthus praecox is ideal for mass displays, the larger species and cultivars are wonderful as a backdrop to the herbaceous border, whereas the smaller ones are excellent in the front of the border, or as an edging plant or in rockeries. They are a good companion for winter growing plants like Chasmanthe floribunda. All of them make good pot plants. A. praecox is also an excellent plant to use to stabilize a bank and to prevent erosion, and in difficult seaside gardens they stand up to the wind. A. praecox is an excellent cutflower, either whole heads, or individual flowers in small arrangements or wired and used in bouquets and posies.

Propagation is by seed or division. Because agapanthus plants hybridize freely with each other, and are all in flower at the same time, you can be sure that there will be hybrids from seed harvested in the Kirstenbosch Garden. To get pure seed of any Agapanthus species it would have to be habitat collected or pollinated under strictly controlled conditions. Even then, there is always a degree of variation in the offspring. If you are after a particular cultivar, division is still the most reliable way of making sure that the material being propagated will be exactly true to type.

Seed can be sown fresh, in late summer - autumn, but in cold climates it can be kept refrigerated (not frozen) and sown in spring. It must be kept in the refrigerator or it will perish. Seed should be sown in deep (10 cm) trays, in a mixture of equal parts river sand and fine compost, and kept semi-shaded and moist. Seed germinates readily within six to eight weeks. The seed should be sown thinly as the seedlings will stay in the tray for their first year. Seedlings should be potted up into individual containers during their second year and can be planted into the garden or permanent pots in their third year. Flowering can be expected from their third or fourth year.

Clumps are best lifted and divided just after the end of their flowering period in early March (late summer - autumn). Unlike the deciduous species, which should be left alone for up to 6 years and often don't flower the first year after being divided, the evergreens are best lifted every four years and usually flower best in their first season after dividing. You need your health and strength to lift and divide large agapanthus clumps - what works well is to place two garden forks back to back in the centre of the clump and prize them apart. Or the clump can be chopped up with a spade. Reduce the length of the foliage by one half and reduce the roots by two-thirds. Replant immediately and water thoroughly.

Agapanthus praecox is generally pest- and disease-free. Foliage may be attacked by red spider mites, thrips, and mealy bug but need only be sprayed if infestation is severe. Agapanthus are famous for harbouring snails, although the snails do not seem to cause any damage to the plants themselves. The best way to combat them is to remove them by hand or to keep ducks. Botrytis, visible as brownish lesions, may attack the flowers preventing them from opening. There is no cure, it can only be prevented by spraying before and after the buds break open. The foliage may be attacked by the fungus Macrophoma agapanthii causing die-back of the leaves, and in severe cases can be combatted with a fungicide like mancozeb or captab as a full cover spray.