No plans to remove pesky agapanthus from Canterbury
Authorities in Christchurch have no plans to declare war on agapanthus despite its pest status in some parts of the North Island.
Agapanthus is one of the most popular flowers among New Zealand gardeners, but it is a major threat to native plants and some councils list it as a pest species.
The Greater Wellington Regional Council advises people not to plant them and removes any it finds in areas it identifies as key native ecological areas, but it does not list the plant in its 10-year regional pest management strategy.
Environment Canterbury (ECan) biosecurity principal resource management advisor Laurence Smith said agapanthus was not currently classified in the Canterbury pest management strategy.
However, the flower could be ‘‘problematic’’.
‘‘It can be problematic if left to spread outside your garden.
‘‘If you are growing in an area of high environmental value, it would be prudent to remove it,’’ Smith said.
Agapanthus was not an unwanted organism nor on the National Plant Pest Accord list though.
‘‘It is sold extensively throughout New Zealand. It is not considered a pest as it is very widespread in Canterbury gardens.
‘‘There are no current plans to change this status as it would be unlikely to meet cost-benefit analysis requirements and enforcing rules would be difficult,’’ Smith said.
Agapanthus was not a particular problem in Canterbury as far as ECan was aware.
Christchurch City Council head of parks Brent Smith said the city had small areas of two agapanthus cultivars in the Botanic Gardens – white Albus and dark blue Stormcloud.
‘‘These two rarely produce seedlings under our conditions and have not become weedy,’’ he said.
"If you are growing in an area of high environmental value, it would be prudent to remove it."
Environment Canterbury (ECan) biosecurity principal resource management adviser Laurence Smith
The council had grown other cultivars including Peter Pan, Variegatus and Tinkerbell.
‘‘But these are no longer present and might have died out naturally.
‘‘We removed a cultivar called Streamline because it seeded freely and showed an ability to spread. Occasional seedlings continue to appear where this cultivar was grown, the last being seen and removed some 10 years ago,’’ Smith said.
Most agapanthus cultivars come from the southern African agapanthus praecox subspecies orientalis.
‘‘It has become a major pest plant in parts of the North Island, and Auckland and Bay of Plenty Regions have it covered in their Regional Pest Strategies,’’ Smith said.
‘‘There are records of this plant being found growing wild in the South Island. Most of these can be attributed to garden refuse in urban locations.
‘‘Although it is difficult to find seedlings in Christchurch, we keep a close watch on plants in the Botanic Gardens just in case.’’