Clivia Miniata

A truly "zen" plant, South African-native Clivia Miniata is a little taste of spring in the deep, dark winter. Big, strappy, glossy green leaves are lovely all year long, but by December, what looks like a small cluster of green grapes emerges from the plant base. Slowly the stem emerges, and the cluster grows. Eventually, the stem, rising as high a two feet, is done growing. The flower head blooms a rich orange (and now, with hybridization, sometimes, white, cream, pinkish, or yellow). After the show is over, the flower heads form excellent seed heads, seeds that are easy to germinate (I just clean them off, remove the fiberous covering, and place them in a plastic sandwich bag with a damp paper towel in a warm place.