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Clivia in springtime

What can be more joyous out in a Southern California garden than the arrival of springtime with the burst of a bountiful parade of blossoms?

My joy and pleasure in springtime are turning to the shady glades of my garden under the tall canopy of various trees, with the glorious eruption of orange and yellow flowering Clivias.

The genus "Clivia" is in the amaryllis family and is from the Natal region of South Africa with four main species most commonly found in the United States. Those four are: C. miniata, C. nobilis, C. gardenia, C. caulescens and a bi-generic cross C. x Cyrtanthiflora which flowers off and on in my Fallbrook garden.

The name "Clivia" was given to this genus of plants by John Lindley, 1799-1865, to compliment Lady Clive, the Duchess of Northumberland.

As a plant collector and breeder of Clivia for over some 40 years, I wait with anticipation for the springtime flowers of some of my Clivia crosses that I have made.

In the Clivia world, there has been extensive Clivia breeding for centuries, and plant fanciers have tickled the pollen upon of the flowers with high hopes of creating new colors and variants of this lovely plant.

In Europe, greenhouse growers have been growing Clivia for home adornment as potted interior plants. Clivia is a plant that can tolerate and grow in the darker areas of the home. The Belgiums and the French have developed wide-bladed leaves as an attractive feature, and I visited some of these greenhouse growers to investigate these dedicated growers in years past.

Here in California, the hybrids are wide and varied, and the color spectrum has long surpassed the original species of Clivia miniata from South Africa.

The Clivia has been a plant that attracts growers who are looking for something a bit unique: be it flower colors, foliage shape with variegated blades or those that bloom off the traditional flowering season.

Here in my garden, I have some form of Clivia flowers almost throughout the course of the year, with different species. As another feature of this plant is the fruiting bodies of ornamental fruit that are usually above the green strap foliage. The usual orange-flowering Clivias have red berries or fruits, while the flower clones of Clivias have yellow fruits.

Some years ago in Leucadia and Encinitas were two German growers, Hummel and Zimmerman, who were doing extensive Clivia breeding for both the cut flower market and as potted plants and that launched the world of Clivia's here in California

Last year I attended an international Clivia show at the Huntington Botanical garden, and it was a riot of color forms that I had never seen before after some 40 years of growing. Those plant growers take great pride in showing off their Clivia children; for when growing Clivia from seed, it takes between four to six years of patience before you see the progeny of your breeding work.

Back in the sixties when attending California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, I used to visit many gardens and estates in Santa Barbara and Montecito to collect seeds and sell them to Horace Anderson, a seed seller here in San Diego.

It was the fun of Clivia plant hunting, along with talking with homeowners who enjoyed their Clivia collections under their trees to brighten up that shady nook that got me hooked.

While on those plant excursions to Santa Barbara, I would see unique plants that fascinated my interest, and I got to know the other plants in the Amaryllis family, like Haemanthus katherinae and Velthemia viridiflora, a pink-flowering bulbous plant for shady locations. And as time ticked along, I was able to find a marketplace for selling my Haemanthus bulbs to the University of Oregon for cancer research.

So in my lifetime, I have found great pleasure and challenge in growing these beautiful Clivia plants and planting my cultivars when developing landscape gardens in Southern California

There have been so many great plant breeders of Clivia up and down the California coast from San Diego, Santa Barbara up to Monterey Bay and beyond. The Clivia fever is spread around the world from growers in South Africa, Europe, Japan and Down Under in Australia.

A few of the fanciful names given to these hybrids are Clivia "bondant yellow," C. "gold star," C."lemon chiffon," C. "California gold," C."Thumbellina," C."vico yellow," C."whipped cream," C."citrina," C."akebono" and hundreds more from around the world.

If you want to read more about these botanical gems, a book by Dr. Harold Koopowitz at the University of Irvine has written the "creme de la creme" on these plants simply titled "Clivias." Within these pages, you will learn more about the Clivia obsession from around the world and the history as well.

Clivia enjoys a shady nook to dappled light and can take some early morning light. They also enjoy a rich organic soil environment with composted leaf mold or redwood shavings. Make sure you have good drainage in the soil and feed with an organic fertilizer like fish emulsion, blood meal or digested chicken manure.

Be on the watch for slugs and snails which can harbor within the leaves and feed on these succulent like flowers and foliage. If you decide to grow them in containers, you might bring them into the home during the flowering season to enjoy their beauty and return them back out into the garden for another year's growth where they will sucker with additional side shoots and become magnificent specimen plants out in the landscape.

Some companion plants that Clivias like to associate with are in the shade of; King palm, Kentia palm, Rhapis palms and Philodendrons. Some of the smaller base plants to grow near Clivia are Mondo grass, liriope, heuchera, cyclamen, campanula, bergenia and the terrestrial bromeliads, like Achmea, billbergia, guzmania, neogelia and others. These are the companion plants that I have found successful in my shady nooks of the garden here in Fallbrook.

So if I have peaked your interest in Clivia that grows really easily here in San Diego, just go out there and start some plant hunting. For the rewards in gardening can enrich your lives and inspire environmental stewardship. If you desire more contact with Clivia growers, you might become a member of The Clivia Club.

Springtime is the best time of year for going to flower and plant shows and a great source to locate these botanical jewels for your garden.

As I have always professed, "He who plants a garden, brings happiness for others to enjoy." Amen.

Roger Boddaert of Maker of Natural Gardens can be reached at (760) 728-4297.

 

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