Prize-winning clivia could attract a hefty R25K price tag

Even though nothing is left to chance by serious clivia growers, what comes out is still a surprise.

September 7, 2019

Estella Naicker 3 minutes read

R100 000 is the most that a clivia has been sold for in South Africa, according to winner of the ‘Best on Show’ at Newcastle’s Clivia Show, Piet van Wyk.

Van Wyk, who travelled from Gluckstad to enter his plants into the show, will sell the winning plant for no less than R25 000.

On average, he sells up to 10 000 plants a year for anything between R30 and R6 500.

More than a hundred Clivia plants brightened Newcastle Mall on Saturday for the viewing pleasure of patrons, while judges contemplated each plant’s colour, foliage, balance, symmetry, shape, leaf length, petal size and the overall harmony of each flower.

Asked what it was that made the clivia so endearing to garden enthusiasts and what attracted the hefty price tags, van Wyk explained that four years of care, attention, time and patience went into growing the perfect clivia from seedling, before you were eventually rewarded with a flower.

Careful consideration goes into the positioning and rotation of the clivia plant so that it receives enough light for the leaves to grow symmetrically, genetics have to be considered to create a perfect bulb of flowers in a unique colour, and the right fertiliser ensures a healthy plant.

“I don’t allow for any cross pollination of my plants. I collect all the pollen and pollinate each plant myself,” said van Wyk, who has 20 000 vlivia plants and 12 500 seedlings growing at his home.

“It’s not a business, it’s a hobby and a passion,” he insisted.

Even though nothing is left to chance by serious clivia growers, what comes out is still a surprise.

“God is still the creator,” laughed van Wyk. “I am just the gardener.”

Van Wyk is a science teacher by profession and served as Principal at numerous schools in the Vryheid area, including New Republic School, Hlobane Primary, Coronation Primary and Nongoma Primary.

He currently teaches mathematics and natural science at Gluckstadt Primary School.

“I have always been an avid gardener, but as a teacher who was also involved in rugby at the school, I didn’t have the time to maintain the plants that I grew. I found that whenever I took the learners out for a rugby tournament, when I returned, all my plants had wilted, so I was looking for something hardier to grow,” added van Wyk, explaining where his interest in clivias arose from.

“A friend of mine suggested clivias and at first, I wasn’t interested, because they are all some shade of orange and it seemed boring… But I decided to try it. My first clivias were not impressive, but the research I had to do and the techniques I had to learn made it very interesting to me. I began to travel to shows all over the country and engage with and learn from genetic scientists. I collected seeds from everywhere, even China, to experiment with different types of clivia. I spoke to the Lotter brothers in Pretoria. They are three genetic scientists who cumulatively, have 145 years of experience growing clivias, but they say that every year, they are surprised by something new.”

Van Wyk works on his clivias from 2pm every afternoon until his wife shouts at him to come indoors after dark.
He has won a place in the top three at every Clivia Show he has entered since 2009, when he entered the Vryheid Clivia Show with 20 plants and scooped 25 medals.

Judge at the Newcastle Clivia Show, Hennie van der Mescht was impressed by the plants which were entered, saying they had a more natural look than those that were entered into shows in the larger city centres.

Van der Mescht congratulated chairman of the Newcastle Clivia Interest Group, Alfred Everson on a very well organised show.

“The fact that it was held at the mall meant that even more people could see the beautiful clivias,” concluded van der Mescht.