He explained that there are different cycles of popularity in the plant world and that it was virtually impossible to say why plants became popular at certain times. But at present it was the Clivia riding the wave of popularity, not only in South Africa, but world wide, especially in China and Japan.

One of our Club members is a long-standing orchid collector and an internationally renowned orchid exhibitor and judge. She has now become very interested in clivias. When I asked her why this was, she replied that the clivia was one of the few flowers through which she could become and artist and create.

When faced with a beautiful clivia plant or flower, one is challenged as to how to go forward with it. The questions facing one are amongst others, the following:

Can I enhance the quality of the flower?
Can I change the colour of the flower?
Can I lengthen/shorten the leaves?
Can I widen the leaves, etc.

From Pikkie's Collection

The Chinese and Japanese concentrated on the leaves, producing the most beautiful variegations, markings and widening of the leaves whilst at the same time shortening them. Others have concentrated on the flowers, producing very large flowers in very large flower heads, with the most beautiful rainbow colours from the palest yellow to the darkest red and all the shades in between.

From Tino's Collection

Hardly any other plant gives one the opportunity and satisfaction to create in this manner. The seeds are relatively large and easy to work with. They germinate easily and grow without many problems, albeit a bit slow.

When I visited James Comstock in America, he had some of his most beautiful flowering plants on stools in his lounge with soothing classical music playing in the background. He would sit himself down in front of these plants and study them for a long period of time deciding how each should be pollinated. No wonder that Harold Koopowitz considers him to be one of the best hybridizers he has ever known.

And I think that is why clivias are popular the world over. They are still within the reach of everyone and we all can become artists, creating with these most beautiful plants. Imagine the challenges still lying ahead. Bronze flowers and green flowers are appearing. Shades of mauve and purple are already being seen as the flowers grow older and the hope is that these colours will be bred into the flowers right from the start. Imagine what will happen in someone produces a blue clivia?

I encourage you to thoroughly enjoy this most popular plant, and to take up the challenge of trying to produce even more stunning flowers in shades of colour never seen before.

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