Utopia Clivias is owned and run by Carrie and Luke Kruger. We aim to offer clivia enthusiasts around the world extraordinary seeds and plants. We have been breeding and selecting clivia plants for more than 20 years to improve their shape, colour and vigour.
Situated in Sedgefield, South Africa in the heart of the Garden Route, our climate is ideal for growing these wonderful plants. Utopia Clivias was established in 1998 and has over the years produced some very special and unique clivias including many top show winners.
We sell seeds, seedlings, offsets and mature plants. Our seeds can be shipped worldwide. Seedlings and plants are delivered in South Africa only.
Carrie has involved all her children in the clivia plant business and they all have their own small collections. They help with shows, planting and seed harvesting. She has dedicated a part of her clivia garden to her oldest son, Jason 20 who sadly passed away in 2009. This project is called Jason`s Memory Garden and it involves distributing clivia seeds to interested youngsters and scholars around the world free of charge and in this way his memory lives on.
We are open by appointment only.
Carrie Kruger – Utopia Clivias
Born and raised on a farm in Molteno in the Eastern Cape, which had large, beautiful gardens planted the seed for my passion in plants. The “green impression” progressed at a young age by digging up plants from the veld and potting them up in old cans.
I met my husband Zwaai Kruger after studies, while working in Queenstown. We moved to Knysna where he did his articles and I started a small restaurant
My first nursery was started in the garden of our restaurant in Knysna. After selling the restaurant we rented a smallholding in Sedgefield, with lots of space where I could carry on with my passion for plants and raise my four children at the same time. It was aptly named “Utopia” and I specialised in bulbs and lilies including Clivias. I was introduced to Clivias by the late Oom Gert Wiese whom I had long telephone conversations with. He used to send me all his old Clivia newsletters via mail and I would read them eagerly from front to back.
We bought our first house in Sedgefield in 1998 and I decided to cultivate Clivias only. I had a small stall at the local farmers market, where I sold my plants every Saturday morning. That is where I first met Ian Vermaak. He invited me to go see his Clivia collection; there was no turning back! I have been a member of the Garden Route Clivia club since it originated. I served on the committee for numerous years and during that time I created the Facebook page plus website for the Garden Route Clivia Club to promote the club internationally. I also served as Chairperson of the GRCC for 3 years.
During my first years of growing Clivias, I visited many top growers like Charl Malan, the late Rudo Lotter and the late Oom Pat Gore in order to purchase special plants and obtain as much advice as possible. My first breeding plants originated from these growers.
“Utopia Clivias” was established in 1998 and has over the years produced some very special and unique clivias.
Our breeding aim is to produce new and unusual colours in both miniata and interspecific breeding. Interspecific breeding is my passion and I eagerly await the new flowers every flowering season. I conducted a number of presentations virtually and in person to Clivia clubs regarding our interspecific breeding results to promote an awareness of Interspecific Clivias worldwide. Although it can take much longer to flower from seed, these first flowers are worth the wait.
Some of our very special Interspecifics that we have bred are “Over the Moon”, “Planet Earth”, “Callisto” “7Stars” and many others.
I still enjoy visiting other growers during flowering time, to select new and special plants to add to our breeding program and to chat about breeding. We also imported plants from America, China and Japan from as early as 2011 to add to our collection. I have a rule that every season older breeding plants get replaced with new and exciting varieties. This way our collection is updated regularly and we keep abreast of breeding trends. Clivia growing has evolved tremendously over the past twenty years and collectors are always looking for new and unusual colours and forms. We now grow our Clivias on two properties here in Sedgefield, as the collection has outgrown the first property.
I regularly write articles for the Clivia Newsletters of the Clivia Society to share my breeding results with other fellow Clivia enthusiasts. Many of our plants have graced the cover pages of both the Newsletters and the Yearbooks of the Clivia Society.
I have also started a Facebook Group named “Clivia Cultivation”, which now has close to 21000 members from around the world. This group is aimed at helping new growers with advice on Clivia cultivation and breeding.
I have been the Public Relations officer for the Clivia Society for the past 4 years, promoting Clivias on their Facebook page as well as writing articles for publication in national magazines.
I qualified as a Clivia show judge many years ago and often attend other club shows as a guest judge.
Promoting Clivia is an integral part of my Clivia journey and I often do talks and Presentations at garden clubs, nurseries and other clivia clubs.
Luke's Clivia Journey
By Luke Kruger Utopia Clivias
I began my journey with Clivias at a young age, assisting my mother with annual Clivia shows and the Wild Oats Market on weekends, where she had a stall. This sparked a deep interest in plants. At that age, most children are not interested in plants or botany; they are more focused on spending time with friends and playing outdoors.
I used to accompany my mother to Kraaibosch Nursery in George when she went to purchase stock for her nursery. She allowed me to choose Clivias that I thought would sell well and others to keep for breeding. On one occasion, I discovered a plant with a unique flower that we had to bring home. In 2005, I entered the GRCC show and won first place. From that moment on, I was captivated—and as they say, the rest is history.
Clivias—my desire, my heartache, and, ironically, my passion—have become a common topic of conversation, not only at home but even in my professional life. I can't imagine my life without them. Would I just sit at home and stare into space? Would I have found another passion? I could talk about clivias for hours; I just need someone who is willing to listen. Clivias bring people together through shared goals: hybridization, genetics, conservation, and more.
My Goals
My aim is to breed new, successful Clivia lines; not just F1 hybrids and then stopping— the best traits emerge in F2 and F3 generations. Clivias require patience and time. Yes, they take years to perfect, but the outcomes are rewarding.
True Passion
My passion lies in pollination. I keep detailed records and cross plants with specific results in mind. Even if the first generation doesn't meet my expectations, I persist— adjusting variables, starting over, or introducing new traits. Pollination is not simply about combining two plants.
I constantly ask myself:
• Will this cross be successful? I consider compatibility, groupings, and expected results.
• Has this been attempted before? If so, how can I enhance it? If I cannot produce something superior, is it worth pursuing?
• What is the shape, color, and potential of the flower? Will the blooms improve over time?
Some of my breeding achievements are highlighted in this article. One of the first plants I used in my breeding was a plant I named Luke's Orange.
This seedling was gifted to me by Ian Vermaak in 2009 during my early years when I started out with clivias. He gave me a whole crate full of seedlings, all carefully tagged.Luke's Orange flowered in 2011 with extra-large, beautiful orange recurve flowers and a full umbel. The cross was Variegated orange no.21/20 (GRCC show winner) x Bronze green boy.
I performed multiple pollinations on the umbel, using pollens from Carrie's Green, Star Bronze, and Emmerudo. The results were all beautiful bronzes with full umbels and well-shaped flowers.One plant in particular stood out, which I named Nebula (Luke's Orange x Star Bronze). I kept this plant and have since done further breeding with her. I hope to see results in the next season or two.
Since then, my main breeding focus has shifted to breeding interspecific clivias. I firmly believe that interspecific clivias are the future.Clivias, my passion and retirement plan. I have generations of breeding ahead of me. The outlook for Clivias is positive, so I can only go up from here.
Email: utopiaclivias@gmail.com Cell: +27833431288 Website: www.utopiaclivias.co.za
