Yellow clivia turning peachy?

9 years ago

I have a Clivia 'Golden Dragon' that has been blooming every summer since about 2008. It never bloomed in the winter/spring. I keep it indoors (southeast MA) in the winter and it goes out on the deck for the summer, where it blooms a month or two after going outside.

It has always bloomed a pretty yellow. Last summer it had two yellow flower stalks, but one got chewed off, probably by a squirrel or chipmunk.

Chewed flower stalk,

July 11, 2016

Remaining yellow flower stalk,

July 18, 2016

This year it bloomed for the first time in late winter/early spring, still yellow.

Indoors on March 26, 2017

I was surprised to see it bloom again this summer, still yellow. That's a seedpod from last summer's stalk.

August 2, 2017

I didn't photograph it again until yesterday when I noticed the color was turning peachy.

August 13, 2017

Today there are clearly two different colors of flowers; some yellow and some peach.

August 14,2017

The outside temperatures have been fluctuating wildly - sometimes hot, sometimes chilly, but the clivia doesn't seem to be fazed by it.

Both colors are fine with me, and the mixture would be even nicer if it recurs.

I have a pup which I separated which is close to blooming size but hasn't bloomed yet.

Does anybody have an idea what's going on?

Thanks,

Claire

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Comments (5)

bragu_DSM 5
9 years ago
I don't know if clivi a can 'sport,' but I know other plants, like AV, and hosta do. Really like the peach, as well as that nice yellow. It seems to enjoy the culture you provide ...
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA thanked bragu_DSM 5
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks, bragu_DSM5. It could be a sport, but the strange thing, to me at least, is that all of the florets were yellow at first, but then some of the florets suddenly turned peach all at once while the others remained yellow. I just looked at it again (I'm out on the deck finishing dinner) and the situation is the same, with some florets yellow and some peach.

If it was reverting to the wild type I would expect a strong orange, not peach, although I don't know what the parents of the original yellow clivia were. Maybe it was derived from a peach clivia?

I always love to see it flower - now I'll be wondering what color it will flower the next time, and what color the pup will flower.

Grasping at straws here, I just remembered that I saw a bee on the flowers on August 13 - I wonder if there could be some effect due to insect pollination.

Claire
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bossyvossy
9 years ago
Very pretty and very interesting the change in color.

i wanted to comment on the chewed off leaf. My kitty loves the crunch crunch crunch of strap succulent foliage. So if you have a kitty, notice if he ever meanders by the plant.
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA thanked bossyvossy
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
Original Author
9 years ago
No kitty, but squirrels visit the deck looking for places to bury their peanuts, like in the potting soil. I also get chipmunks every day using the deck as a shortcut to somewhere - they race across the deck in one direction, then back in the other.

Claire
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
Original Author
8 years ago
Just to update the color change:

The peachy flowers started dying off while the yellow flowers remained intact.

August 18, 2017

Then the remaining yellow flowers started turning peachy.

August 21, 2017

Then all of the flowers died off, leaving a bare flower stalk with interesting swellings, maybe the beginnings of seedpods?

August 27, 2017

I'm really leaning towards the color change being a result of pollination by bees or other insects. Maybe I never noticed it before because I didn't get any seedpods until last summer's bloom, and then only two seedpods. I probably wouldn't have noticed if two flowers turned peachy if they were buried in a mass of yellow flowers.

I'm hoping to see a number of seedpods ripening from this stalk. If so, then maybe insect pollinators were the answer to the change of flowers from yellow to peachy.

Claire