LIFESTYLE NEWS - Clivia cultivators from all over the Garden Route will take part in the Garden Route Clivia Show on 24 and 25 September at the Outeniqua Primary School hall, where 400 colourful plants will be on show.
Members of the Garden Route Clivia Club have been doing many research projects concerning the genetics of clivias so that one is almost guaranteed success if you followed strict scientific methods of propagation.
Local interest in clivias blossomed after the forming of the Clivia Society in 1992 and the annual show will certainly tempt more enthusiasts to attempt to produce a rarity.
Initially one is exposed to the vivid colour and impressive flowers of the indigenous water-wise clivias in their season, but once one is a clivia owner, the temptation to do some genetic engineering takes over.
To breed something different is always uppermost in the mind as you transfer pollen from one plant to another.
André Meyer of the club says one of the most important traits one needs is patience. "You are kept in anticipation: will the cross be successful? Has pollination occurred? Will seeds be produced? Is there some indication of the result in the berries? Or will one have to wait 4 - 7 years before the flowers bloom?"
He says the fruits may save one time and prevent anxiety regarding the results of one's efforts.
"There is a definite correlation between the colour of the berry and the colour of the flower that will appear in time. Yellow berries will produce yellow flowers, and the red berries will produce orange or red flowers. It is those in-between shades that keep one guessing: will it be peach, apricot, ghost, green throat, bronze? Variegated clivias generally produce striped berries."
More details of the upcoming show will be published soon.
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