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Autumn 2004
Secretary: Joy Woodward
P O Box 53219, Kenilworth 7745, South Africa.
Telephone +27 21 799 8768. Fax +27 21 797 0002.
This is the first CapeNews from our Club. Our administration office is in Cape Town and our quarterly meetings and workshops are shared between its northern suburbs at Durbanville and southern suburbs at Kirstenbosch. Because our members come from all over the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and also from other provinces, many of them cannot attend these. We have therefore decided to use a newsletter to report on these meetings to them. Its layout is experimental and any input as to its future design will be welcome.
Bydraes tot Kaapse Nuussal geplaas word in die taal waarin dit geskryf word, maar sal in die internasionale uitgawe in Engels vertaal word, waar toepaslik.
We will also report in Cape News on more formal matters, instead of taking up valuable meeting time dealing with those, and use it to reach all our members with news of interesting new experiences and ideas, and to report on the workshops. Everyone is encouraged, therefore, to tell us, in the language of their choice, all about their experiences and to submit interesting photos by sending them to Joy so that they can be shared with all through Cape News (ordinary snaps will do - they need not be at all ‘professional’, as long as they are interesting!).
In the past it has not been feasible to produce CapeNews because of the printing and postage cost. The electronic media avoids these costs and places no restriction on the use of colour, photos and drawings. This means, however, that CapeNews will only be published electronically, but we are sure that those who do have computers will share them with others and print hard copies as required.
REPORT ON THE AGM
This was held at Durbanville on 13 March, 2004. Over 100 members attended. John Winter, our Chairman, reported on another successful year, thanks to the ongoing enthusiastic support from all.
1. Financial Report
This success was also reflected in the Financial Statements presented by Ian Brown, our Treasurer. These showed a surplus of about R38 000 for the year and accumulated cash reserves of some R68000. The first Show organised by the George Interest Group contributed some R10 000 to that surplus, which would be transferred to them, together with their share of the reserves, when they become an independent club.
2. Committee
The same Committee was appointed, with the addition of Johan Schoombee.
3.Clivia Society Report
The Clivia Society Exco. is now sending out a report on its activities. As at January this year it reported that:
- Cobus Roos (Pretoria) has been appointed as Public Relations Officer of the Society and can be reached +27 72 272 3328 or .
- Yearbook 6 is well in hand.
- The Society now has a website, the address being This is available for use by our Club. Our webmaster is Riel Lotter assisted by Claude Felbert. Riel emphasised at the meeting that it is up to all of us to submit photos and developments concerning our Club to him to be considered for inclusion on the site. The Society’s finances are in a healthy state.
- Four projects had been submitted for Clivia Research. That sub-committee has since accepted the proposal by Prof. W. Swart of Free StateUniversity to research “Disease-causing organisms associated with Clivia species in South Africa and their control”. There will be more about this in the forthcoming Yearbook.
- The Standards and Judging Sub-Committee is still far from reaching a conclusion on its recommendations.
- A list of members and 2003 Show winners is available from Joy.
- On the International scene, Clivia Societies/Clubs have been established over the past year in New Zealand, Australia and the USA. None of them has affiliated to the Society. They are all expanding and produce their own newsletters in electronic format which are of high quality. In this regard, we must mention that our Club has joined an international chat group, which has been established to link those overseas bodies with one another and with the South African Clubs. A very fruitful meeting is held every couple of months where Reports are exchanged and there are open discussions on ways of co-operation and on all Clivia matters.
- The Society is looking to making its newsletter available in electronic format, in keeping with what is being done overseas.
- The AGM of the Society will be held at Pietermaritzburg on 5 June, 2004.
4. Club’s Representatives on the Society
Gert Wiese (alt Coen Calitz), Claude Felbert (alt Gerrit van Wyk) and Felicity Weeden (alt Toy Jennings) were appointed the Club’s Representatives on the Society. We thank Ian Brown and Mick Dower for fulfilling this role until now.
5. Sale of seeds and seedlings
A seedling list has been prepared. It is available from Joy in electronic format or in hard copy if you send a stamped, addressed A4 envelope. A list of seeds for sale will also be prepared soon. As always, any member is welcome to join in these sales through the Club, the only requirements being that accurate information must be given on parentage and the Club is entitled to a 15% commission on sales.
6. Sale of bulk products
Gert Wiese continues to make pots, fertilizer and potting soil available at all meetings and at his home at prices far below those charged at the nurseries and passes the profit on to the Club. It has become a substantial part of the Club’s income.
7. Naming of Cultivars
Joan Sadie is our rep. on this sub-committee. She pointed out that the procedure for registering cultivar names is detailed on Ken Smiths website, which is incorporated in the Society’s website referred to above. Anybody who experiences any difficulty can contact her at . Hard copies of the name registration application forms are available from Joy.
8. C. mirabilis
John Winter is responsible for the NBI growing on the C. mirabilis seedlings at Kirstenbosch on behalf of the Northern Cape Conservation Department. He explained that the seedlings would not be ready for marketing before the end of the year, but could not be advertised yet because the Department had placed an embargo on any dealing with C. mirabilis, pending its application for registration of plant breeding rights. This could take at least 6 months to finalise. When it was finalised, he would do his best to ensure that the notice offering plants for sale appeared in the Society’s Newsletter at the same time as the official notice. He had also asked the Department to consider making seed available to growers in those countries whose quarantine regulations made the importation of seedlings not viable.
9. Honorary Life Members
The meeting elected Christo Lötter, Gert Wiese and John Winter unanimously as the first Honorary Life Members of the Club.
Christo’s training in botany and genetics helped him to breed new prize winning cultivars and he has invented a device to germinate C. miniata seed asearly as March, which can be seen on the Society’s website at “ Collecting and germinating seeds “.
Gert cultivated a C. miniata, which is probably the nearest to true breeding from seed, by selected breeding of ‘Howick Yellow’ with ‘Kirstenbosch Yellow’ and which was named “Sarie Gold” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the women’s magazine “Sarie”.
John founded the Club, has been its Chairman since its inception and was the first Chairman of the Clivia Society. He has led explorations into the Transkei, Kwazulu-Natal, the Mpumalanga and Swaziland, which discovered a number of new clones in the habitat, and added enormously to the available Clivia gene pool. John has published his findings and has distributed the plants to the NationalGardens for the benefit of all. Their seed has been made available to enthusiasts through the NBI. At the same time he has actively promoted the conservation of Clivia by the wide distribution of seedlings to the general public and the nurseries, also through the NBI.
Most important, however, is the leading role which all three of them have played in establishing the culture of goodwill and unselfish and generous sharing of expertise and plants. This is the cornerstone of our Club.
9. Raffle
More than 20 quality plants were donated to the raffle,which again raised about R1 500. Being without cost, these raffles now contribute about 15% of Club funds.
10. Workshops
These will be held at Kirstenbosch on Saturday, 27 March 2004 at 9.00 am, en by Gerrit van Wyk se huis te Cedarbergweg 19, Durbanvilleheuwels, Durbanville op Saterdag, 3 April 2004 om 2nm. There is no charge, but please phone Joy to book.
CLIVIA IN ANSHAN, CHINA
The Annual General Meeting ended with a talk by Hein Grebe, who shared part of his visit to China with us. He was there, and in Tibet, from the end of August until the end of October last year. There are about 1300 commercial Clivia growers in Anshan, 600 in Chanchun and more in surrounding cities like Shenyang. The Clivia Club in China has over 23 000 members.
Hein had time to tell us only about his visit to Clivia growers in Anshan and Shenyang in the east of China at the end of October.
A typical glass house in Anshan faces South with a low glass wall on the South side and a high brick wall on the North side and the glass roof sloping about 30°. There are windows for ventilation in the low wall and at the top of the high wall. In strong light 80% shade cloth is pulled over the glass roof. When less shade is required, mud is splashed on the glass. In winter mats made of rice straw are pulled over the roof to protect the plants against the cold. A man and his wife will manage such a green house of 500 square metros with about 10 000 plants on their own. Typically they live in a dwelling, attached to the greenhouse and looking into it, with two rooms – one for cooking and the other for eating and sleeping with their two children. The plants are watered by hand and repotted twice a year (this with the help of their extended family), oak leaves being used as the potting medium. Only unglazed clay pots are used and they stand off the ground.
In the east of China they grow broad leaf Clivia, including a selection called ‘Light of Buddha’ because its young leaves are invariably greenish yellow changing to dark green when they mature. Its flower stems and the seed berries are also greenish yellow, the berries turning dark green and, just as they ripen, orange.
Variations in the leaf colour and appearance are much sought after, such as dark spots on the lime green called ‘Starlight’, prominent veins called ‘Painted Face’, with X-ray like shadows called ‘X-ray’ and akebono like stripes across the leaf.
They also grow broad-leafed plants with what we call ‘variegated’ leaves, but they refer to these as ‘coloured’ leaves. The stiffer the leaf the better. “Light of Buddha’ with leaves wider than 12cm are very rare. A plant with plain green leaves 15cm wide sells for the equivalent of R5000. They are grown with leaves up to 19cm wide. A top quality ‘Crinkle Face’ mother plant was available for R800 000, or its suckers for R30 000.
It is important to get the leaves to grow in a fan (‘distichous’). This is achieved by keeping the leaves in a north/south position and rotating them in this position regularly. A young leaf which strays is bent into place when its growth starts turning outwards, by bending it into line with the stiffer leaf below it, protecting these leaves with paper or foil, and holding them together with a clothes peg or other clip. They are fed with a concoction made of 8 ingredients, including soya and other beans, sunflower seeds, fish bone and meat which is boiled up and then allowed to mature for about a year, stinking to high heaven.
Clivia flower throughout the year there, but mainly at the time of their Spring Flower Festivals. They are also grown mainly in two other cities – Chanchun and Shenyang. A good grower can expect to earn R250 000 to R300 000. This is a fortune when you find that three people can eat well there at a restaurant for a total of R5. Hein found that it took him 2 weeks to spend the first R1000 that he drew!
TIPS AND PIECES STUKKIES EN BROKKIES
Die Teel van breë en kort blare
Sean Schickerling het kort, breë blaar saailinge aan die vergadering gewys en verduidelik hoe hy hulle geteel het. Hy het ‘n kort, breë blaar (75mm x 30cm) c. miniata met ‘n baie mooi oranje blom wat hy by ‘n kwekery gekoop het. Hy besluit om dit te bestuif met ‘n geel c. miniata (‘Howick geel’ x ‘Kirstenbosch geel’) met blare 55mm x 75 cm. wat hy by oom Gert gekry het met ‘n baie mooi blomkop en wat ‘n derde prys by ‘n Kaapse Skou gewen het. Sy plan was om ‘n beter blom vorm vir die oranje te behaal en hopelik breë blaar geles mettertyd te teel deur hul afstammelinge met mekaar te kruis.
Al die saailinge aard na die ma met selfs korter blare. Hulle langste blare is 70mm x 28 cm. en twee het baie kort blare ( 85mm x 13cm en 70mm x 11cm).
Sean vra wat ander se ondervinding was met die teel van breë blare en kort blare, vernaamlik watter spesifieke eienskappe in die pa en in die ma gesoek moet word, en speel mutasie ‘n rol?
‘Twins’
This is a photograph of ‘twin’ seedlings, i.e. two plants that have grown from one seed. They presumably arise from a split ovum and will therefore be ‘identical’. Ian Brown has found that they take about a year longer than their normal siblings to mature and should be divided as soon as they are old enough, which this plant is.
Breeding variegated leaves
Leaf variegation (chlorophyll deficiency) can be inherited only through the mother plant (pod parent), but the pollen parent may play a roll in the nature and extent of the variegation.
In Yearbook 5, Shige Sasaki advises that the best forms of variegation may be inherited from a pin-striped mother. This is borne out by the variety of distinct variegation in the green stem seedlings bred by Mick Dower from a hair striped, pure yellow ‘Kirstenbosch Supreme’ mother bred by John Winter pollinated with a non-variegated, pure yellow father (‘Variegated Yellow x Vico Yellow’) bred by Nakamura. None are albino and some may mature to Akebono.
When a heavily variegated pod parent is used there are always a percentage of albino seedlings which will not survive. In fact, Ian Brown has found that when such a mother is selfed all the seedlings can be albino.
Leaf dieback.
Dickie Gunston reports that he has established that dieback of the leaf tips is caused by a fungus rife in Agapanthus known as macrophoma agapanthi. The cure is to spray every two weeks with a copper oxycloride spray, such as Kombat Rust.
‘Gladys Blackbeard’
Gordon McNeil named this C. miniata pastel cultivar for Gladys Blackbeard, who was one of our pioneer Clivia growers. He bought her collection at Grahamstown and took it to his farm at Ofcalaco in the then Northern Transvaal. ( See the article by Charl Malan on ‘The Eastern Cape – of its People and Plants’ in Yearbook 2). It is remarkable not only for its colour and its scent, but also because it always flowers earlier than any other C. miniata – usually from May, and over a longer period – last year as late as October. This year she has flowered for Toy Jennings early in March with 22 florets.
One can usually never tell whether a pastel will revert to orange when hybridised, but we found last year that all her seedlings from pollination with Christo Lötter’s Group 1 yellows flowered pastel.
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