Plant in a shaded area in well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to very little - quite drought tolerant in the shade of an oak tree. Hardy without damage to 25-28° F and recovers from short duration cold temperatures down to 20° F - grow indoors in containers in colder climates. This old fashion narrow leafed Clivia is a wonderful plant for the oak understory and its dark green leaves an attractive foil for the orange flowers.

Clivia miniata comes from dapple shaded areas in forests of Kwazulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Swaziland in South Africa. The genus was named Clivia in 1828 by the Kew botanist John Lindley when he described Clivia nobilis with the name honoring Charlotte Percy (Lady Charlotte Clive), the Duchess of Northumberland (1787–1866) and the specific epithet is the Latin word for "cinnabar", the color of red lead in reference to the color of the flowers. Clivia miniata were among the first plants sent back to England from South Africa in the early 1800s. Harry Butterfield in his “Dates of Introduction of Trees and Shrubs to California" attributed the introduction of this species into California to the Italian born Santa Barbara botanist Dr. Francesco Franceschi (AKA Emanuele Orazio Fenzi) in 1908 but in 1895 when Franceschi arrived in Santa Barbara he documented all of the plants he found here and, in his book, published that first year titled Santa Barbara Exotic Flora he listed Himantophyllum miniatum an early name for Clivia miniata. He in fact commented on the plants that he found as not growing that well but noted "If some attention was given to its culture it will certainly become one pf the chief ornamentals of our gardens Among the most improved varieties recently raised in Europe there will be some to be sure eminently adapted to our climate, and it will pay to work up this plant". A pretty inciteful observation about a plant that would become a common ornamental in California gardens. We have grown this wonderfully useful plant since 1980 and now grow several named selections we and others have made such as our yellow flowering Clivia miniata 'San Marcos Yellow' and the late Dave Conway's selections Clivia miniata 'Lemon Chiffon' and Clivia miniata 'Tessa'. 

The information about Clivia miniata displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.