Glenn Miles and Dave Coulson scooped top prizes at this year’s Clivia show on October 22 at the Beacon Bay Country Club.
The growers and breeders were judged based on the shape and fullness of the head of flowers as well as the texture and variegation of the leaves.
The judges considered the overall form of the plant as award-winning clivia’s have unique colours to the flowers and sturdy leaves which bear yellow or white “streakings”.
Clivias are fairly easy to breed and grow, provided they are insulated against pests.
The clivia is vulnerable to the amaryllis worm in particular as it t burrows down to the root and destroys the whole plant.
As East London approaches its humid, rainy season, risk of invasion by the amaryllis worm increases.
Clivias, which tend to be shade-loving, must be fed regularly with a good fertiliser.
Coulson’s plants – bronze green-throats – have been growing for the last four to five years to achieve their winning form.
He advises interested growers to purchase good quality seeds or seedlings from a trusted breeder.
“You don’t want to waste your time with seedlings that are not good quality because clivias take a long time to grow.
“I started with common oranges [clivia miniata] and all I had after five years was a whole lot of common clivias,” Coulson said.
Miles, a retired animal geneticist, has been breeding and growing clivias for a number of years.
He said: “If you want to start getting into clivia’s you have to get in quickly because it’s a very slow process.
“You must have a breeding goal, start with the best seed you can get and go for that breeding goal. There is also money to be had in clivia’s because a few years ago, the Emerald Sky clivia sold at auction at the World Clivia Conference for R22,000.
“There are breeders from China and Japan who are willing to pay local growers these prices for our indigenous plants because they are more advanced over there in their breeding techniques,” Miles said.
