Clivia Register Detail

Registrant Contact

Registration ID: 1512

Registrant: Clivia Society

Cultivar Information

Cultivar Name: Ndwedwe Ngidi Pink Champagne

Breeder:

Description: “This plant was found in the Upper Tongaat area of Ndwedwe in 1995 by a partially blind Africa man who lives in the Ndwedwe area who said it was a ‘yellow’ Clivia and had it growing in his house in the sun. It was badly sun damaged and the umbel was bruised and crushed but one would see that it was in fact a yellow with pinky markings which I thought was caused by sun and handling damage. No seed set that year. In 1996, it flowered in the base of the leaves and rotted off before the bloom could open. In 1998 it again flowered in the base of the leaves. As most of my plants never flowered in Westbrook Beach at the coast, I decided to send the plant to Des Andersson in Pietermaritzburg for a ‘temperature shock’ in 1999. Success at last, the flower spike pushed up to beyond the leaves. When in bud the colour of the outer side of the petals was yellow/orangey pink. As the bloom opened and matured it turned a pale-pinky yellow with a bush of darker pink on the upper and under side of the reflexed petals. The bloom has a slight scent and produces a large amount of pollen. The plant was selfed, crossed with Pat Quin’s Nakamura Yellow, and Ndwedwe Beta – a wild yellow. All the seeds set and ripened orange. When we moved most of my plants were mixed up when settling them under the trees, labels were misplaced etc, etc. So it is a matter of wait and see as to what flowered where, and then check the name on the bag! Fortunately all the Ngidi crosses were labeled on the bag but were scattered around the garden and mixed in with other crosses. Disaster, in December 2001 the plant rotted at the base. When I discovered there was a problem, the rot had already travelled right up the centre core of the leaves so there was no chance of saving what was left. I scratched around in the soil and found a small piece of root stock about the size of a 5 ZAR cent coin. I tried to grow some but failed. I decided to give the biggest piece to Sean Chubb and said “save it, if you can” – “you have more of a chance up in the cooler area of Eston than I do with the coastal humidity”. Months went by – I was too depressed and anxious to even ask how the rootstock was doing – I took a chance in a moment of mental strength, and was delighted to hear that Ngidi had started to send up the tiniest shoot. I did not hold my breath – and left things for another couple of months. Over many months, she grew and grew and eventually it looked like there was a good chance of saving the plant. Sean planted Ngidi in an earthenware pot that he had inherited from his grandfather – his lucky pot – as he called it. Over the next five years Ngidi flourished – still in the same pot – Sean was terrified of transplanting it in case it took another dive. Each time I visited him I went and had a look – it was a very exciting time as I just could not wait for her to flower once more. Great excitement, the day had arrived – Sean phoned in September of 2006 to say that Ndigi was now in bud. Well, the rest is history – she flowered – was photographed and once again admired by Sean and myself in amazement at what was once a small piece of rootstock and 6 years was now a flowering size plant. In 2007 Sean informed me that Ngidi was bursting out of ‘grandad’s’ pot, and had cracked it open. Sorry Sean. It was duly repotted into the heaviest earthenware pot Roy has ever tried to pickup and is now re-united with the rest of my plants. Needless to say, Ngidi has never produced a sucker so I am still living a life of fear in case the same thing happens again. All I can say is an enormous and extremely grateful ‘THANK YOU’ to Sean for saving this very beautiful and precious habitat for of Clivia miniata.” Val Thurston

Photo:

Photographer: Sean Chubb

Photo:

Photographer:

Photo:

Photographer:

Photo:

Photographer:

Extra Attributes

Colour: Pastel

Tepal front colour and pattern:

Tepal back colour and pattern:

Tepal width:

Tepal count:

Umbel diameter:

Flower number:

Leaf width:

Leaf length:

Administrative Info

Reference y3/2001

Clivia Register Detail