Clivia miniata

[Daryl]

This thing is in total shade...what a great plant for filling in under your palms...

[Darold Petty]

I use this plant as a shade ground cover around my palms. It has a fresh and refined appearance always, plus the bonus of vivid flowers in spring. Many well-fed plants will also flower in the autumn. The large red fruits provide an additional splash of color for months. The foliage has toxic alkaloids and is never chewed by snails or slugs (Although they will damage the flowers immediately). My only complaint is that the slow-growing foliage is somewhat succulent and is easily broken by my clueless dog stepping on the plants. Here in California a flowering size plant sells for about $15 USD. Hybrids of C. miniata are the only form available for retail sales. I have some seedlings of C. caulescens.

There is an entire sub-culture of Clivia collectors, some rare color forms can sell for thousands of dollars. The correct pronunciation is 'klive-ee-uh' as this genus was named in honor of the British Duchess, Lady Charlotte Florentia Clive.

The best english language book on these plants is Clivias by Harold Koopowitz, Timber Press, 2002.

[LJG]

Daryl, I agree with you. I use a lot of these in my yard. You always know what you get with these plants.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

I know what I get with them...no blooms. Is there anybody in Florida who grows and blooms these? Beautiful plant though.

[epicure3]

I have a bunch of Clivias around the yard. They are beautiful but only bloom once a year in late winter. I'd love to have more but with a once a year showing, it's kind of a waste.

[LJG]

I have many that rebloom. In fact a peach colored one I have just finished reblooming again. I have no idea what makes them do this.

[Darold Petty]

The spring flowering cycle is stimulated by falling overnight low temperatures in autumn. My plants in the greenhouse are much less floriferous than the outdoor ones.

[chris.oz]

I have planted about 50 of these and they do make a brilliant show.

However, if planted again, I would buy only the deeper red ones.

[Kumar]

I know what I get with them...no blooms. Is there anybody in Florida who grows and blooms these? Beautiful plant though.

I have four large pots filled with these and not a single bloom in years!, although they grow well enough

[rprimbs]

I know what I get with them...no blooms. Is there anybody in Florida who grows and blooms these? Beautiful plant though.

I have four large pots filled with these and not a single bloom in years!, although they grow well enough

I've seen a large deep red one that gets such a large bloom that it almost resembles an amarylis. That's the one I'm looking for!

[Tyrone]

They're great Daryl. I've got heaps of these things as well as some C nobilis. Brilliant shade flowering plant that can't handle much sun here. I've also got some peach and yellow varieties around the place. There's a big Clivia grower near me and now and again I take a look at his extensive greenhouse grown collection where he grows all the weird and wonderful stuff. It's another world with Clivias and the rarer ones fetch huge prices from all over the world. Some people will pay $2000 US for a rare pup.

Best regards

Tyrone

[SubTropicRay]

I've tried them but the snails enjoyed them more than me.

[Daryl]

Still going strong, after being relocated from my old garden...

 

[Tracy]

12 hours ago, Daryl said:

Still going strong, after being relocated from my old garden...

They transplant very easily.  I have split clumps with a shovel when they get out of control in an area and transplanted half the clump without phasing either the original or the transplants.  While only the flowers seem to be consumed by snails and slugs, they do harbor snails and slugs the entire year.  When I have a snail problem, the first place to check is in the Clivia clumps.  I never realized until reading this thread that there are so many varieties, as I've only had the common orange and yellow species.  Based on Darold's comments about the low Autumn night temps stimulating flowering, we must have an ideal climate for them here, as they are vigorous bloomers.