It can be tough to nail down exactly why we become obsessed with certain plants. Ever since my brother, Tim, purchased a Clivia miniata via mail order more than four decades ago, I’ve really liked these plants. When I found out that 1) hundreds of cultivars are available with different flower colors, forms and leaf shape and color, and 2) that Clivia can fairly easily be grown from seed, my obsession was born. That was over ten years ago. During about a five-year span, I ordered and grew dozens of Clivia seeds looking for flower color and variegated foliage. My “Light of Buddha” seedling is one of the stars of those efforts. Started in 2009, it has grown into a compact, lovely plant that blooms about every other year. With this clone, though, the leaves are the important thing.
Variegation usually presents as stripes or dots, but in this plant, only the middle of the leaves are lighter and it makes for some real interest, both when the new leaves burst forth in spring and when the plant has settled down and darkened up a bit the rest of the year.
I had originally labeled this “Starlight of Buddha,” but the true name appears to be “Light” and not “Starlight.” Maybe I can cross it with a yellow clone and get “Starlight of Buddha!”
My 2020 plans for this plant are to top-dress it in the spring with new soil and organic fertilizer. Unlike the vast bulk of my Clivia collection, I keep this plant in the greenhouse year-round so I can really keep an eye on it.
Here is the plant blooming March 29, 2020:
Here is a shot of the entire plant in April 2020.