Clivia
A strappy-leaved, shade-loving perennial grown for its dramatic heads of orange or yellow trumpet flowers in late winter and spring, at a time of year when very little else in a shaded garden is flowering. It wants dappled shade: full sun scorches and yellows the foliage, while very heavy shade still grows well but flowers less reliably. It's genuinely drought-tolerant once established and actively dislikes sitting wet, so skip the pot saucer and let it dry out through autumn and winter rather than keeping it moist year-round. All parts contain low levels of toxic alkaloids, concentrated most heavily at the base of the stem and in the green berries, so keep an eye on young children and pets that might chew on it.
Something wrong with your clivia?
- Sun
- partial sun
- Water
- low
- Spacing
- 40cm
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Grows in
- Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Tasman, Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago, Invercargill / Southland
- Mature height
- 45cm
- Flowering season
- Aug, Sep, Oct
- Evergreen
- Yes
- Common diseases
- Root rot in waterlogged soil
When to plant by region
In Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson and Tasman: September-November. In Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago and Invercargill / Southland: October-November.
Growing stages
Planting & divisionSpring
- Choose a shaded spot, ideally dappled shade under trees or on a shaded patio, with free-draining soil
- Avoid frost-prone positions; clivia dislikes frost
Establishment
- Don't overwater while settling in; keeping the soil too wet at this stage is the main cause of fungal rot
- Once established, water regularly through spring and summer
Autumn & winter rest
- Let the soil dry out through autumn and winter rather than watering on the usual schedule; this dry rest helps trigger good flowering
- Never use a pot saucer; sitting water around the roots is the fastest way to lose a clivia
FloweringLate winter into spring
- Dramatic orange or yellow flower heads appear when little else in a shaded garden is blooming
- All parts are mildly toxic if eaten, most concentrated in the stem base and green berries, so supervise pets and young children around flowering plants
Maintenance
- Divide congested clumps after flowering finishes if growth has become crowded
- Otherwise genuinely low-maintenance once established