Clivias Today

These days clivias are about so much more than just orange.

- Felicity Weeden

While clivias may traditionally be orange, today there are countless new shades, including a range of oranges to orange-reds, while one of the most sought after is the very rare red. Then there are peach, apricot and salmon, and the very desirable, rare and lovely pink. There are also patterned forms such as Versicolours, Splashes, Picotees and Bicolours, and there are forms of most colours with green throats to add to their attraction.

A really spectacular form of clivia is the peculiarly named ‘Ghost’, in which the colour fades to create large light-coloured areas with darker edges, an example of which is ‘Florid White Lips’. Green-throated bronzes and yellows are also available, the most treasured of which is the green clivia, named ‘Hirao’ after its breeder, Dr Hirao of Japan, while multitepals are also available in many colours.