3.09.2011

Clivia miniata



My good friend Nannette gave me this clivia three years ago. The clivia summers under our pear tree and winters in a cold, dimly lit corner of Matt's "office," a small, precarious, dangerous perch above the staircase where a paperwork avalanche-waiting-to-happen also resides. The clivia likes being pot-bound and dried out, and I like providing those conditions for it.


Round about mid-February, I haul the clivia off the perch - in a teetering sort of way - and into the warm, bright kitchen, where a good soaking ensues. I put the clivia on a chair so it can be one of the family, and it responds in kind by promptly (about three days later) shooting up a flower spike.


If it happens to be sunny late in the afternoon, the clivia becomes charged with volcanic energy and turns this marvelous molten color.

5 comments:

LeLo said...

I will never forget the clivias at Lotusland in Santa Barbara. Yours is absolutely stunning, and to see them in mass? Amazing. See here....
http://www.lotusland.org/explore-garden/plant-highlights/april

Stacy said...

What luminous colors! Really gorgeous. And how kind of you to go out of your way to provide its favorite growing conditions all winter. :)

Immortal Mountain said...

Wow, I've never seen those before- and what an exemplary being that is! You're lucky you don't have furry four-legged devils jumping up on your tables, trying to sabatoge all plant life forms.

Ellen said...

It brightens up the whole house, congratulations!

Anonymous said...

BEAUTIFUL Flower. I'd love to see a big butterfly perched on one of those.