GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Garden Route Clivia Club invites the public to attend their Clivia Interspecific Show at the Garden Route Botanical Garden on Saturday 5 August from 09:00 to 13:00.
Clivias are indigenous to South Africa and grow best in dappled shade and well-drained soil - these are truly water-wise plants.
The most popular clivia species has been Clivia miniata (Afr. "Boslelie") and when people talk about clivia, that is usually the plant they think of. The other 5 species (nobilis, gardenii, caulescens, mirabilis and robusta) are gaining popularity.
All of these have pendulous flowers as opposed to the trumpet-like upright flowers of Clivia miniata. People tend to think "orange" when they talk about clivia, but most clivia species appear in many other colours (yellow, peach, apricot, salmon, red, green) and combinations of colours.
These different species flower at different times, which means that you can have flowering clivia in your garden for up to 10 months of the year.
Clivia enthusiasts started hybridising between Clivia species a couple of decades ago and these hybrids are referred to as "clivia interspecifics". Many clivia enthusiasts use clivia miniata as either the berry or pollen parent in these crosses to ensure that the resulting flowers are more open than the pendulous species.
The results have been stunning: the large variety of flower shapes and shades has exceeded expectations. These interspecific hybrids flower mostly at the same time as the berry parent, adding variety to the garden.
A clivia plant on display.
The show will take place next to the tea garden at the Garden Route Botanical Garden, Caledon Street, George. Entrance is free. Quality plants, seedlings and seeds will be available for purchase at reasonable prices.
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