The History of "Bella Donna Oprah" – The Original
A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but few honors are more meaningful than having a rare and exquisite flower named after you. In 2004, a unique cultivar of Clivia miniata was named in tribute to Oprah Winfrey.
This cultivar, known as Bella Donna Oprah—meaning "beautiful lady" in Italian—is a striking plant native to South Africa and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). It was cultivated by Bertie Guillaume in Makhado (formerly Louis Trichardt), located in South Africa’s Limpopo Province.
The name was selected by a panel comprising representatives from O, The Oprah Magazine and the Clivia Society, recognizing the flower’s exceptional beauty and significance.
We are fortunate to possess one of the original offsets of this renowned plant and have been actively breeding with it, as well as with its offspring, for several years. Only recently have we begun to release limited quantities of seeds and seedlings from this exclusive breeding line. Plants derived from this line are distinguished by the prefix "Bella"—a nod to their heritage and inherent beauty.
The Bella Donna Oprah remains a highly sought-after cultivar, found only in select breeders’ collections. It is particularly prized for its exceptional breeding potential.
Genetically split for yellow, Bella Donna Oprah produces green-stemmed seedlings that mature into compact, yellow-flowering plants with large, full umbels and impressive, oversized blooms.
