South African Bulbs

[AmyO]

All of you seem to have some south African bulbs in flower now so I have to show mine - a common Clivia miniata though but it is from seed I received more than 30 years ago from a friend. It sits outside from April till November and in the basement till the buds appear.

Trond I'm so glad you posted a picture of your Clivia! I've got one coming into bloom also that I started from seed 6-7 years ago and this will be its first blooming!
I'll post a pic as soon as it is blooming well. I plant-sit for neighbors who winter in Florida and they've got 3 huge pots of Clivia that will be blooming profusely soon also. Such great and tough plants! I finally figured out that the blooming is connected to day length rather than watering or temperature. So the rest of my Clivia will all go to the neighbors next season!

[bulborum]

Michael what a nice colour

the ones you send me
just start growing
but are far from flowering

Roland

[Michael J Campbell]

Roland, Azurea is a winter grower as is some of its  hyb offspring shown here.

[Michael J Campbell]

A couple more.

Geissorhiza aspera.
Sparaxis villosa (syn. Synnotia villosa) or whatever they call it this week.

[bulborum]

That explains a lot

I have one Freesia laxa alba (or whatever it is called now(I like this phrase Michael)) in flower
its a late seedling from last year
made the flower-bud in December
but because of the cold didn't develop

I am in Holland in the moment
but will try (if I don't forget) to make a picture Friday when I am back home

Roland

[Hoy]

All of you seem to have some south African bulbs in flower now so I have to show mine - a common Clivia miniata though but it is from seed I received more than 30 years ago from a friend. It sits outside from April till November and in the basement till the buds appear.

Trond I'm so glad you posted a picture of your Clivia! I've got one coming into bloom also that I started from seed 6-7 years ago and this will be its first blooming!
I'll post a pic as soon as it is blooming well. I plant-sit for neighbors who winter in Florida and they've got 3 huge pots of Clivia that will be blooming profusely soon also. Such great and tough plants! I finally figured out that the blooming is connected to day length rather than watering or temperature. So the rest of my Clivia will all go to the neighbors next season!

You are welcome, Amy (got a copy of a nice magazine recently  )
I'm looking forward to seeing yours! I've been fascinated by Clivias ever since my grandma lived. She had an enormous 100 year old plant in a huge pot!

[bulborum]

Cyrtanthus breviflorus start flowering here

Roland

[AmyO]

You are welcome, Amy (got a copy of a nice magazine recently  )
I'm looking forward to seeing yours! I've been fascinated by Clivias ever since my grandma lived. She had an enormous 100 year old plant in a huge pot!
[/quote]

Here is my Clivia seedling in full bloom for the very first time!! The seed came from a large plant that Matt Mattus gave to me when I worked as propagation & greenhouse manager for a large nursery & garden center a few years back. I collected the seeds and every one germinated. I gave lots of plants away and kept 4. This is the only one so far to flower, that I know of. Matt said it was an 'interspecific cross', but as you can see it is very much like the common C. miniata. But still very special to me! 

[Hoy]

Here is my Clivia seedling in full bloom for the very first time!! The seed came from a large plant that Matt Mattus gave to me when I worked as propagation & greenhouse manager for a large nursery & garden center a few years back. I collected the seeds and every one germinated. I gave lots of plants away and kept 4. This is the only one so far to flower, that I know of. Matt said it was an 'interspecific cross', but as you can see it is very much like the common C. miniata. But still very special to me! 

Amy, Congratulation with the first flowers on your Clivia. Very nice and of course it is special! If it is an interspecific hybrid you should self it - then you can get some interesting results.

[AmyO]

Here is my Clivia seedling in full bloom for the very first time!! The seed came from a large plant that Matt Mattus gave to me when I worked as propagation & greenhouse manager for a large nursery & garden center a few years back. I collected the seeds and every one germinated. I gave lots of plants away and kept 4. This is the only one so far to flower, that I know of. Matt said it was an 'interspecific cross', but as you can see it is very much like the common C. miniata. But still very special to me! 

Amy, Congratulation with the first flowers on your Clivia. Very nice and of course it is special! If it is an interspecific hybrid you should self it - then you can get some interesting results.

Trond...does 'selfing' simply mean to cross-pollinate the flowers back and forth with each other? I've never been clear on that.

[Hoy]

Yes. Use pollen from the same plant. It doesn't matter whether you use the same or another flower. If your plant is an intergeneric hybrid (F₁) then miniata seems to be dominant. In that case all member of the F1 generatin would be similar and probably show some heterosis-effect (extra vigour). But if you manage to get seeds by selfing you should get recombination on traits in the F₂ generation. Then you have to grow and select new types 

[Lis Allison]

Most of the Clivias in cultivation today are inter-specific crosses, that is crosses of various strains of Clivia miniata.

Here are two pictures of my yellow Clivs. The seeds came from South Africa through the Clivia Store. They came loose in a plain envelope. I was surprised that they came through the mail like that, but it worked. All but one seed grew and of the ones that have flowered so far, two have been lovely yellows. The one that has just bloomed is also strongly fragrant. Another seedling seems to be staying miniature in size.

The book 'Clivias' by Harold Koopowitz is the last word on clivs and well worth getting.

Now, anybody want about 47 miscellaneous orange Clivias?

[Hoy]

Most of the Clivias in cultivation today are inter-specific crosses, that is crosses of various strains of Clivia miniata.

Here are two pictures of my yellow Clivs. The seeds came from South Africa through the Clivia Store. They came loose in a plain envelope. I was surprised that they came through the mail like that, but it worked. All but one seed grew and of the ones that have flowered so far, two have been lovely yellows. The one that has just bloomed is also strongly fragrant. Another seedling seems to be staying miniature in size.

The book 'Clivias' by Harold Koopowitz is the last word on clivs and well worth getting.

Now, anybody want about 47 miscellaneous orange Clivias?

I do fine with one

[AmyO]

Flowers are all pollinated..now it's the waiting game! 
thanks for your tips Trond!

[cohan]

The yellows are nice I know plants have sold for plenty, if not as much as snowdrops! How long did they take from flowers?
My mom has a mass of orange ones from a plant I got her years ago, but they are too big for my house- I can fit many small plants in that space!