Growing Clivias, the CliviaTrends way!!!

What follows here are an account of the methods used in our breeding programs.  Right from the onset it should be noted that what works well for us might not necesarily work as well for you.  There are many external factors that influence the method used, some of these factors  are your local climate, rainfall etc.  It is however imperative to gather as much information as possible and then adapt different methods to find the perfect mix for your own unique circumstances. 

Starting Out

As a new enthusiast the obvious place to start would be to obtain some Clivia plants and or seeds.  Experience has taught that it is probably better to start out with a few really good quality clivia plants, rather than many sub-standard plants.  Initially it is probably also wise to purchase relatively inexpensive seeds, just to give yourself the opportunity to experiment and find the right mix, thus saving yourself the heartache of losing expensive seedlings and maybe becoming disillusioned, or worse yet, disinterested.

Growing Medium

It will surely be time well invested to go around to the growers in your area and discussing the growing medium they use.  The right growing medium is one of the most important components in the succesfull propagation of Clivia, as the most common threats to the health and wellbeing of your Clivia, relate to waterlogging and/or poor drainage.  I have yet to hear of a Clivia dying due to drought, but has had bitter experience of losing plants due to waterlogging.

Lots have been written about the most suitable growing medium, yet it is rarely found that growers,even in the same micro climate, use the same growing medium.  One common denominator, at least here in the Port Elizabeth area in South Africa, is that most, if not all growers, use a mixture consisting mostly of milled and composted pine bark. Our preference is a very loose mixture of coarse milled pine bark and pine needles, with no other organic matter.  To this we add a little bonemeal and a beneficial fungus, Trichoderma, which colonises the roots of the clivia plant and compete with harmful fungi. This medium drains very quickly and rarely, if ever, becomes waterlogged.