How To Grow Clivias - Clivia Growing Tips

How To Grow Clivias - Clivia Growing Tips

Clivias are hardy flowering perennial, shade-loving plant that can survive almost in any soil conditions.Although clivias grow well in containers in any zone, they thrive when planted outdoors anywhere, they love shades. Clivia plants require partial to full shade and fast-draining loamy soils to produce healthy growth.

The bright orange-to-yellow flowers of clivia plants add a warm and tropical flair to the landscape. These South African natives produce dark green, sword-shaped leaves that provide a contrasting texture to the foliage of woody evergreen and deciduous plants. 

These wonderful, evergreen perennials clivias can easily grow under the shade of trees in quite tough conditions and almost always perform well. Over recent years they are enjoying a resurgence in popularity with the introduction of new flower colours and exciting leaf forms.

The most desirable clivia plants are the one which bloom is  yellow, cream, apricot and pink in colour. Deep red-flowered forms and varieties with broad leaves are also in high demands.

The clivias are flowering plant which is well regarded by the gardeners worldwide, gardener's favourite in Japan, the United States, Europe, China, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. 

Be careful about the flower colour while buying your clivia seedlings if they are grown from seeds from local nursery.

Plants that will be reliably coloured are grown as off-sets from a plant with a known flower colour. The only sure way to know you are buying what the label promises is to buy a named variety, or a plant already in bloom.

How To Grow Clivias

How to propagate Clivias

The Clivias can easily propagated from mother plant division. Mature Clivia plants has many young plants growing from the same root system of the mother plant, which we can divide very easily without hurting the mother plant.

Clivia mother plant division

Divide the clivia plant every three to five years. Dig up the plant in the spring, just after it has finished flowering. Dig in a ring around the plant, 12 inches away from its center with a shovel or trowel. Dig down to a depth of 10 inches and undercut the root ball to free it from the soil. Lift the plant from the ground and brush away excess soil. Pull the plant apart, separating individual stems with a healthy portion of the swollen roots. Replant the divisions, spacing multiple plants 18 to 24 inches apart. Do not plant clivia plants deeper than they were previously growing. Water the transplanted clivia plants thoroughly.

Clivia mother plant with young seedlings growing around it

Clivia mother plant

Divided Clivia Plant

Clivias also grow easily from fresh seed. Clivia seed is ripe when the seed pods change from green to red or yellow.

Clivia seed pods

Mature clivia seed pods

Ripen and ready to plant clivia seeds

Germinated clivia seeds

Germinated clivia seeds

Planting Position for Clivias 

The popularity of clivias coincides with more gardeners seeking out evergreen plants to cover the ground en masse with the added bonus of flowers.

Gardeners are always looking for plants that flower in winter when there is a lack of colour.

Landscapers and designers love to use clivias, as they are generally trouble-free plants for that difficult, shady spot.


Which Clivia Species to Choose

• Clivia caulescens has narrow, tubular-shaped flowers, soft-red in colour with green tips, and very long leaves, often reaching 1m or more. This species flowers in spring.

• Clivia gardenii has tubular-shaped red flowers with a green tip and narrow leaves about 75cm long. C. gardenii flowers from autumn to spring.

• Clivia nobilis features pendulous green-tipped tubular flowers that bloom in mid winter to spring, with spot flowering at other times.

• Clivia miniata is the best-known species to be grown in gardens, offering clusters of lovely salmon-coloured open flowers.

Growing Clivias

Clivias are easy to grow, but their position is vital. Early morning sun or dappled shade is best, with protection from midday and afternoon sun. Clivias planted out in the open will become scorched and unsightly on the first hot sunny day.

In cold climate areas, clivias will need protection from frost. The far-reaching canopy of a deciduous tree over the top of a clivia patch will drastically reduce the likelihood of frost damage.

Spread a 1-inch layer of mulch around the clivia plant with a rake. Keep the mulch 4 to 6 inches from the base of the plant to avoid rot.

Clivias are tough plants that grow in any type of well-drained soil. Their fleshy roots benefit from organic matter dug in at planting time or when plants are being lifted and divided.

Although clivias are drought-hardy, needing little additional watering, they will respond to extra watering in their growth period from spring to summer.

Fertilize the clivia with a 6-6-6 nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium formulation slow-release fertilizer every three months during the growing season. Apply at a rate of 1 teaspoon per square foot of soil. Spread the fertilizer in a ring around the clivia plant, keeping the granules 12 inches from its base. Rake the fertilizer into the top 3 inches of soil. Water the area thoroughly. Do not apply fertilizer while the plant is dormant.

Clivias generally grow to about 30cm in width, so spacing your seedlings 30cm apart should be sufficient.

Pruning Clivias

Deadhead the clivia plant in the late spring when the flowers are spent. Cut through the base of the flower stalks with a pair of pruning shears. Make the cut 1/4 inch above the point where the flower stalk joins with the main plant. Discard the spent flowers in a trash bin or on top of a compost pile.

You may also want to prune back clivias to prevent them from becoming overgrown or unruly. Never prune more than one third of the plant within a 12 month time span.

Clivias in Pots

Potted clivias look lovely on a patio or decorating a shady courtyard.

In pots and containers, clivias like to be pot bound and can be left undisturbed for many years. My grandmother grew them beautifully for more than 20 years without ever disturbing the roots by repotting.

Do not over-water them when in pots, nor have them sitting in saucers of water, as their fleshy roots can rot if they are over saturated.

Diseases and Pests 

Slugs and snails always like to sneak around the base of clivia foliage, especially during a moist winter, so keep a check and use bait, or go on a night hunt on a wet evening.

Possums can also eat the ripening seed pods, so you will need to be extra vigilant against these marsupials if you plan on collecting the seed for propagation.

Control the insect with a registered insecticide as soon as damage is visible. To prevent rot, drench with a good phosphorus-based fungicide.

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