Indigenous Clivia - Some Interesting Facts

Date: Sunday, 06 Sep 2020 By: Brenda Franklin

Clivia are endemic to Southern Africa which means that they do not occur naturally anywhere else in the world.     

This makes them an ideal plant at the entrance to Lavender House, welcoming guests with their rich green foliage - and - like clockwork, their bright orange blooms appear during the first week of September onwards for a few weeks, year after year.

The world's love affair with South Africa's clivias begin in the 1800's when plants from Kwazulu-Natal were sent back to England.   They became popular indoor plants in England and Europe.    

Breeding clivias became widespread and many varieties of blooms and foliage have been created.    Internationally, the most advanced breeding of clivias is happening in the Far East, most notably Japan.

Back in South Africa, in many areas, the colonies of clivia growing in the wild have been destroyed by harvesting for traditional medicine and by plant collectors.

So, we treasure our two small colonies of these magnificent beauties in our small Lavender House garden.    Come and visit us this Spring.     The show is on!

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