What are the care methods to make Clivia grow fast?

Clivia is a noble, upright and understated high-grade precious flower, also known as sword-leaf lycoris, large-leaf lycoris, etc. It is a perennial herbaceous ornamental plant of the genus Clivia in the Amaryllidaceae family, native to southern South Africa, with a flowering period of 30 to 50 days, mainly in winter and spring, but it also blooms from around New Year's Day to the Spring Festival. Let's take a look below at how to grow Clivia so it grows fast!

How to grow Clivia so it grows fast?

1. Soil: Clivia is suited to acidic soil rich in decaying matter, and it should have good air permeability, with sufficient moisture but not overly saturated. It can be mixed from 65% humus soil, 20% clean sand, and 15% fine furnace ash, and the soil needs to be constantly changed during the growth process.

2. Fertilizing: Clivia should be given one application of solid fertilizer in winter, with less nitrogen fertilizer and more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. A compound fertilizer of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium can also be applied to promote the sprouting of more new plants and leaves, but fertilizing must be done in the right amount, and it is strictly forbidden to apply concentrated fertilizer or raw fertilizer that has not been fermented and decomposed.

3. Watering: Clivia can be watered about every 20 days together with an application of fermented soybean cake water, diluted fishy water, or water from soaking horse hooves, etc. When the room temperature is low, watering should be controlled to prevent the potting soil from becoming too wet; overly wet potting soil will cause the plant to rot at the roots and die, but the potting soil should not be allowed to become too dry either.

4. Temperature: The suitable temperature for Clivia growth in winter is 15 to 20°C, and it is best not to go below 10°C. After the flower stalk emerges, the temperature should be maintained at around 18°C, and the day-night temperature difference is best at around 10°C, otherwise the flower stalk will bloom before reaching the proper height, easily forming “stuck arrows”.

5. Light: Clivia is a medium-light plant, and scattered light is best. It does not need strong light during growth, and especially in summer direct sunlight must be avoided. In winter, strong light during the flowering period will shorten the flowering period, while medium light can extend it. If earlier flowering is desired, short-day treatment can be used.

Why does Clivia fail to bloom?

1. Improper nutrition: After Clivia enters the reproductive stage, part of the nutrients must be supplied to the reproductive organs for flower bud differentiation. If too much nitrogen fertilizer is used at this time and phosphorus fertilizer is lacking, the plant will grow excessively, preventing normal flower bud differentiation and thereby affecting normal flowering.

2. Water imbalance: The life activities of Clivia require water, and the nutrients in the soil can only be absorbed by root hairs after being dissolved in water. Therefore, watering should be reasonable so that the plant's vegetative growth is good, and after entering the reproductive growth stage, normal flower bud differentiation and timely flowering can occur.

3. Unsuitable light: Clivia belongs to long-day flowering plants. Under long-day conditions it can only grow and cannot carry out flower bud differentiation, thus delaying flowering. To make Clivia bloom, it must be moved at night to a room without lights; once the flower scape has emerged, it no longer matters.

4. Unsuitable temperature: Clivia stops growing when the temperature is below 10°C or above 30°C. Room temperature that is too high or too low will both lead to poor plant growth, thereby affecting bud formation and flowering. Therefore, the room temperature for cultivating Clivia is best at 11 to 17°C.

What to do about stuck arrows in Clivia?

1. Unsuitable temperature: The suitable growth temperature for Clivia is 15 to 25°C. Below 15°C it grows poorly, especially before the stalk emerges; if the temperature does not reach above 15°C, the flower scape is difficult to push out, so the temperature should be adjusted in time to facilitate the emergence of the flower scape.

2. Insufficient temperature difference: Clivia's growth habit favors a large day-night temperature difference. If the temperature difference is small, it is difficult to push out the scape. After flower bud differentiation and before arrow emergence, the temperature should be controlled at around 10°C; then arrow emergence is easier, otherwise the stuck arrow phenomenon will occur.

3. Insufficient fertilizing: After Clivia has been grown for 3 years, the number of fertilizer applications must be increased once autumn arrives. It is best to apply liquid fertilizer with a relatively high phosphorus content, and alternating nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is preferable. If necessary, a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate foliar fertilizer can be added to promote flower bud formation and earlier flowering.

4. Improper watering: If water is lacking when Clivia emerges its arrow, the growth of the flower scape will also be hindered and cause a stuck arrow. Therefore, when the arrow is emerging, the amount of watering should be increased to keep the potting soil moist; otherwise the bulb and leaves will suffer from lack of water, blocking the plant's physiological activities and resulting in stuck arrows that affect flowering.

5. Excessive pressure: When Clivia shifts to reproductive growth, attention should often be paid to changes in the bulb. If a stuck arrow is caused by excessive pressure from the bulb, a sharp knife can be used to cut open the leaf sheath clamping the arrow scape by 1.5 cm, so as to reduce the pressure of the leaf sheath base on the arrow scape and promote scape emergence.

How to manage Clivia in winter?

1. Fertilizing: Clivia has the fastest vegetative growth rate in winter and needs the most nutrients, so applying winter fertilizer well is very important. Before the flower pot is brought indoors, use bone meal, fried sesame seeds, cooked soybeans, etc., or compound fertilizer, diluted with water and applied once every 15 to 20 days; animal and plant residue soaking liquid can also be used to water the roots.

2. Watering: Clivia has fleshy roots, likes air, and fears waterlogging. Its leaves have a waxy layer, and winter temperatures are low, so water transpiration and evaporation are low. Therefore, watering should not be excessive; simply water together with fertilizing and keep the potting soil moist. Never flood-irrigate heavily, which can cause root rot and plant death.

3. Heat preservation: In winter, Clivia must be kept warm and protected from freezing, and after the flower stem emerges it is best to maintain around 18°C. If the temperature is too high, the leaves and flower stalk will grow excessively and become thin and lanky, the flowers will be small and poor in quality, and the flowering period will be short. If the temperature is too low, the flower stem will be short and prone to stuck arrows and premature flowering, affecting quality and reducing ornamental value.

4. Light regulation: Clivia likes scattered light and avoids direct strong light. In winter indoor care, it should be placed in a place with sufficient light, especially before flowering, where good light is needed to help the flower buds develop plump and strong. After flowering, appropriately lower the temperature, avoid strong light, and maintain good ventilation, which helps prolong the flowering period.

5. Leaf protection: Clivia with plump leaves and strong flowers, green leaves and bright flowers, and short, broad, thick, green, glossy and upright leaves are healthy characteristics, and are also the foundation for promoting flowering and improving ornamental value. To maintain strong leaf quality, in addition to providing reasonable fertilizer and water, the leaf surface must be kept clean to improve photosynthetic efficiency.