Hey there! I'm Oosie Strydom

My journey began in September 2002 when a friend introduced me to the NCC Clivia Club Show at Lynnwood Ridge Primary School. During the show, I was mesmerized by Bertie's Bronze, an extraordinary brown and bronze clivia, sparking my fascination with clivias. Joining the NCC Clivia Club, I began my quest to breed bronze clivias, and that same year, I acquired a significant amount of seed from the late Koos Geldenhuys.

As my interest grew, I spent time with Pikkie and Elize, who had some of the best bronze plants at that time. I acquired seeds from the late Tino Ferreira through Pikkie. I grew a beautiful bronze plant (f15) (Bertie's Bronze x Jackpot) that, along with Pikkie's Gunston daughters, a bronze from the late Braam Opperman, and a Belgian Bronze from Sean Chubb, formed the foundation of my bronze collection.

Some of those seeds obtained through Pikkie from the late Tino Ferreira, produced a greenish group 1 yellow, that Tino obtained from Bill Morris of Australia. Through linebreeding, I developed a grass-green bloom with a knurled cream-colored edge.

As my interest expanded to other colors of clivias, I obtained plants and seeds from various sources, including Chris Viljoen, Pikkie en Elize, Liz Boyd, Rouzell, Francois van Rooyen, Peter and Michael, and Sean Chubb. Most of my interspecies hybrids were acquired from Francois van Rooyen.

Over the last four years, I developed a fondness for multi-tepal clivias and have acquired genetic material from Paul and Sue Kloeck of Clivia Kingdom. Although I still breed with all colors and types, my focus has been on breeding exceptional multi-tepal clivias.

At present, Jacques van Eck, Karel Stanz, and I mentor each other and exchange genetics, which has been instrumental in advancing our breeding. This has made clivia breeding even more enjoyable.