Johannesburg - South Africa has 14 Clivia clubs and all are about to renew their annual love affair with our indigenous bush lily this spring. From August through to October the brilliant orange flower heads of Clivia miniata fill shady areas of the garden with vivid colour.
These indigenous drought tolerant plants have adapted to growing in most of our climatic regions and are without doubt one of the easiest, low-maintenance plants for shady parts of the garden.
Glynne Middlewick of the Joburg Clivia Club has this advice for growing clivias:
Where to plant
Clivia are drought-tolerant, shade-loving indigenous plants that require little care. Even when not in flower, the dark green strap-like leaves create a lush, tropical effect.
The kind of shade in which they will grow is against south-facing walls, on shady pavements, under trees, amongst other shade loving plants, in pots on shady patios or indoor courtyards.
Conventional wisdom is to mass clivia, but they are equally eye-catching when used as individual feature plants, making them excellent for small gardens.
Design tips
Use one or two plants as the main feature within a bed of shade plants such bromeliads, Cycas revoluta, fuchsias, aspidistra, gardenia and iresines.
In a narrow section of the garden use them for height and colour. The plants cope with the mixed light and don’t outgrow the space.
Interplanting ferns among the clivia can protect them from the harsh rays of the sun.
Clivia tips
* Don’t plant clivia too deep.
* Don’t over water.
* Clivia don’t like to be divided or transplanted. - Saturday Star