How to care for clivia in spring? These care methods you need to master
Spring is the best growing period for clivia, and spring care is very important for its growth that year and even the next year. So in spring, when all things revive, what should be done for clivia?
Clivia
I. Moving outdoors at the right time:For clivia that has overwintered indoors, as spring temperatures rise, it should be moved outdoors for care at the right time. The suitable time for moving outdoors is generally around Qingming Festival in temperate regions, while in cold regions it must be delayed by about half a month. It can also be timed for when the temperature is above 15°C. One or two days before moving outdoors, windows must be opened for ventilation. After moving outdoors, it should first be placed in a sheltered and semi-shaded spot. After it gradually adapts to the external environment, move it to a sunny and well-ventilated place to receive full light.
II. Repotting and division:For mature clivia, the repotting time is generally after flowering in spring. Plants that do not bloom in spring can be repotted when moved outdoors. After removing from the pot, remove the old soil and dead roots, and replace with new growing medium to increase nutrients and permeability. Established plants should still be grown in the same size pot, while growing plants should use a pot one size larger. For plants that have tiller buds at the base, with 3 to 4 leaves and a plant height of more than 10 cm, division should be carried out together with repotting. Those that can retain roots should be cut away from the mother plant with a sterilized small knife; those that cannot retain roots should be broken off by hand. Apply sulfur powder or plant ash to the wounds to prevent rot. Single plants with roots should be planted in small pots; those without roots should first be cultivated in fine sand, and potted for care after rooting.
III. Watering and fertilizing:As spring temperatures continue to rise and the plant enters the early growth stage, water demand increases day by day. The frequency and amount of watering should increase from less to more, but the goal is to keep the potting soil moist. After slow growth in winter, clivia has little nutrients left in its body. Especially after bolting and flowering, its nutrients are almost exhausted, so nutrients must be supplemented timely and appropriately to meet the requirements of spring growth and development. In spring, the plant is in the stage of producing new leaves and leaves growing in length and width, so fertilization should mainly be nitrogen fertilizer. After moving outdoors, generally apply a thin liquid fertilizer once about every 10 days, with the concentration flexibly controlled according to growth vigor and temperature. If using compound fertilizer, it should be applied at the edge of the pot, and the amount should be small rather than large.
IV. Promoting buds and flowering:For clivia that has the habit of bolting in late winter and early spring and blooming in early spring, to avoid "stuck arrows" at this time due to low temperature and other reasons, which affects flowering, 2 to 3 weeks before bolting, increase the indoor temperature, increase the amount of watering, and apply liquid fertilizer once every 7 to 10 days or a compound fertilizer mainly containing phosphorus and potassium once every half month. You can also water the soil with water at 20°C to 25°C and spray the leaves with water at 25°C to 30°C, and keep the indoor temperature at 10°C to 15°C as much as possible. This can promote the plant to bolt and form buds quickly and bloom on time. Once the flower opens, reduce watering, stop fertilizing, and move the plant to a low-temperature place to prolong the viewing time.
V. Pest and disease control:As temperatures rise, pests and diseases in dormancy begin to become active and spread, harming the plant and affecting its growth and development. You can use lime sulfur mixture at 0.3 to 0.5 degrees Baumé to spray the plant leaves and bulbs once every 10 days for 2 to 3 consecutive times. This can both prevent disease and kill overwintering pests.
Spring care methods for clivia
Move outdoors at the right time
Clivia overwinters indoors in winter, and when spring arrives it is a good time to move clivia outdoors;
As spring temperatures gradually rise, the best time to move clivia outdoors is after Qingming Festival, but in cold regions it must be delayed by about half a month before it can be moved outdoors.
Remember that before moving it outdoors, first ventilate it indoors for two days so it can adapt in advance to the outside temperature, then gradually move it outdoors. The main point is to let clivia adapt to the changing environment. After moving it outdoors, it must be placed in a spot with light for care.
Repotting and division
For clivia that has already matured, repotting is generally done after flowering in spring, or when it is moved outdoors for final placement;
First remove it from the pot, remove the old soil and dead roots, and replace with new soil. The new pot should be somewhat larger than the original flower pot so the plant can continue to grow.
If the plant has rooted tiller buds, use a sterilized small knife to cut them off from the roots. Those without roots can be broken off by hand, then apply sulfur powder to the wounds to help prevent rot and avoid decay;
Rooted tiller buds should be planted separately in small pots. Those without roots need to be cultivated first in fine sand, and only after rooting can they be potted for care.
Watering and fertilizing
Because spring temperatures gradually rise, the plant enters the early growth stage at this time, so during the growing period it needs a large amount of water. But do not overwater; just keep the potting soil moist;
Because clivia grows slowly in winter, its own nutrients have already been consumed a great deal, especially during the flowering period, when almost no nutrients remain. Nutrients must be supplemented timely and appropriately so that clivia can grow better in spring.
Alright, do you now know the most important points for spring care?
Clivia care, clivia cultivation methods
Clivia picture collection: http://hua.fengqiaoju.com/album-read-id-322-page-1.html
Standards for an ideal clivia variety
What is the standard for an ideal clivia? The floral proverb tells us: "round, short, wide, thick, hard, flower, bright, bulging, smooth, upright."
"Round" means the leaf tip shape should be round. That is, egg-shaped, without any acute point. The entire plant shape should be round, achieving a fan-like appearance when viewed head-on, with no leaves of uneven length.
"Short" refers to leaf length, which should be around 200 mm. The leaf neck is short and tapers sharply. A single leaf looks like a table tennis paddle.
"Wide" means the leaf width itself should be more than 100 mm. The spacing between the two longitudinal veins should be wide, about more than 5 mm.
"Thick" means the leaf thickness should be more than 2 mm.
"Hard" refers to hardness and elasticity, feeling firm and not spongy to the touch.
"Flower" refers to the contrast in color between the leaves and veins.
"Bright" means the leaf surface is glossy.
"Bulging" refers to the degree of elevation of the veins. It requires the longitudinal and transverse veins to be clearly raised and robust, with the longitudinal and transverse veins intersecting at right angles to form a regular bumpy pattern.
"Smooth" means the leaf structure is fine and delicate, feeling smooth to the touch.
"Upright" means the leaves are upright and facing upward, with the lower leaves flat and not drooping, and the remaining leaves accordingly growing evenly spaced and gathered at the top, achieving the perfect plant shape of "a line when viewed from the side, a fan when viewed head-on."
Soil and fertilizer: Clivia prefers loose, fertile neutral or slightly acidic humus soil. The growing soil can be mixed with 65% humus soil, 20% clean sand, and 15% fine furnace ash. For clivia, apply a solid fertilizer once in winter, apply less nitrogen fertilizer, and apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Eggshell powder and fermented fishy water are very good phosphorus fertilizers, while chaff ash and tobacco ash are readily available potassium fertilizers. You can also apply a nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizer to encourage more new shoots and leaves. Fertilization must be appropriate, and never apply concentrated fertilizer or raw fertilizer that has not been fermented and decomposed, otherwise it can easily cause leaf tip scorching or rot. In winter, if new leaves show spots and the root system turns yellow, it indicates excessive fertilization, while new leaves being narrow, thin, and especially pale indicates a lack of fertilizer.
Watering: The soil should not be too dry or too wet. Each watering must soak through, and after budding, water a little more. About every 20 days, combine watering with applying fermented soybean cake water, diluted fishy water, and water from soaked horse hooves, combining watering and fertilizing. When room temperature is low, control watering to prevent the potting soil from becoming too wet. Too-wet potting soil can cause root rot and plant death, but the potting soil should not be allowed to become too dry either.
Heat preservation: The suitable winter growing temperature for clivia is 15-20°C, and it is best not to go below 10°C. After bolting, the temperature should be maintained at around 18°C, and the day-night temperature difference is best around 10°C, otherwise the flower arrow will bloom before reaching the proper height, easily forming "stuck arrows." When the outdoor temperature at night is below 10°C, clivia should be moved indoors. When the indoor temperature is below 10°C, in addition to covering the surface of the potting soil with a 1 cm thick layer of charcoal powder for insulation, the flower pot should also be placed in a sunny and warm spot indoors. When the indoor temperature is especially low, a plastic film can be placed over the flower pot to raise the temperature, but the temperature under the cover must not exceed 25°C. If it exceeds this, ventilate promptly to lower the temperature.
Light: Although clivia likes a semi-shaded environment, in winter the longer the sunlight exposure the better. When flowering, strong light will shorten the flowering period, while weak light can prolong it. It likes warmth and coolness, and avoids severe cold and extreme heat. Generally, it grows well at 18-20°C and stops growing below 5°C. After clivia is brought indoors, light is restricted, so the flower pot needs to be moved manually for adjustment. Under normal circumstances, during the day the flower pot should be placed in a sunny spot indoors so that sunlight can reach the plant. Before flowering, at night the flower pot should also be placed under a fluorescent lamp to supplement light. Because the two rows of clivia leaves are opposite, if light remains in one position for a long time, the leaves will grow unevenly and affect the ornamental effect. Therefore, when adjusting light, pay attention to the direction of the leaves, and change the sunny side about every 10 days. There are two ways to place the flower pot indoors: one is to place the leaves parallel to the sunny window, and the other is to place the leaves perpendicular to the sunny window. The latter works better than the former.
Prolonging the flowering period: The flowering period of clivia is mostly from December to March of the following year. The way to prolong the flowering period is to place it in a dark spot when the flowers are about to open, appropriately control watering, and keep the temperature at 8-12°C. In this way, the flowering period can be extended by 10-20 days.
Clivia likes a cool and humid climate. In summer, to keep clivia growing well, measures must be taken to create conditions favorable for its growth.
Shading: In summer, place it under a shade shed outdoors. If direct sunlight can be blocked at noon while sunlight can still be received in the morning and evening, that is ideal.
Cooling: In addition to placing clivia in a ventilated spot, also place the clivia pot on a water pool or water platform (raised with wooden boards), and frequently spray water around the placement area and on the plant leaves, so that clivia grows in a small environment below 25°C with 60-70% humidity.
Reducing fertilizer: When the temperature at the clivia growing location is above 25°C, appropriately reduce or stop fertilizing to avoid excessive fertilization burning the fleshy roots. If more fertilizer was applied in spring, in summer half of the potting soil can be replaced from the top, and then replaced again after the Start of Autumn. If the temperature can be lowered below 20°C, fertilization can still continue as usual.
Watering: Adhere to the principle of watering as soon as the soil is half dry, and soaking through whenever watering. Never let water flow into the leaf center, to avoid rotten heart disease and causing "beheading."
Pest control: If harmed by scale insects, spray the leaf surface with 1000-1500 times diluted dichlorvos solution.
Key points for clivia care through the four seasons:
In spring avoid wind; in summer avoid sun exposure; in autumn avoid rain and spraying water; in winter avoid low temperature and dryness.
I. Prepare potting soil. Clivia has fleshy roots and requires loose, fertile, well-drained soil. It grows best in slightly acidic soil (pH 6.2-6.7). You can mix decomposed chicken manure and pond mud at 4:6, or preferably mix pine needles, decomposed organic fertilizer, and river sand at a ratio of 5:3:2.
II. Light. Clivia likes semi-shade, especially in summer, when direct sunlight can easily cause "sunscald." Therefore, in summer shading is essential, with semi-shade and semi-sun being best, giving deep green leaf color; but in winter there must be sufficient sunlight. Good light is an important condition for producing large and brightly colored flowers.
III. Humidity. Clivia likes to grow in a humid environment. The relative air humidity should not be lower than 60%, and then the leaves are glossy; if the environment is dry, the leaves are dull and lusterless, and may even wilt, turn yellow, and grow poorly. Therefore, in summer, when temperature is high and evaporation is fast, sprinkle water on the ground around the pot and spray the leaves 2-3 times a day to increase humidity, lower temperature, and keep the leaf surface clean. But be careful not to let water flow to the root crown, to prevent waterlogging in the potting soil.
IV. Watering. Accurately judging the dryness and wetness of the clivia potting soil is the key to watering. The method is not to water when not dry, and to soak through when watering. In spring and autumn, during vigorous growth, the amount can be larger to keep the potting soil moist; during the "dog days" of summer, evaporation is high, so if ventilation is good you can water more, but if the weather is muggy and ventilation is poor, water less; during the "coldest days" of winter, growth basically stops, so watering is not suitable. To keep the potting soil moist, you can place a layer of moss on the pot surface.
V. Fertilizing. Follow the principle of "light fertilizer applied frequently," and never apply concentrated fertilizer or raw fertilizer, to avoid leaf scorching and root rot. Organic fertilizer must be fully decomposed. The suitable growing temperature for clivia is 15-25°C. If this range can be controlled, fertilization can continue throughout the year. If under natural temperatures, apply more in spring and autumn, and less or not at all in summer and winter. For plants that have not flowered, apply more decomposed cake fertilizer and other fertilizers containing more nitrogen (one-year-old seedlings are not fertilized). In late autumn, fertilizers containing more potassium can be applied, which not only promotes robust growth of leaves, stems, and roots, but also improves cold resistance and disease resistance. For plants that have already flowered, apply more decomposed cake fertilizer in spring, and especially in autumn apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. You can also use 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution for foliar feeding in the early morning or evening.
VI. Changing potting soil. Change the potting soil once a year. When planting, do not set it too deep; cover the soil up to the fleshy root crown, and the surface can be covered with a layer of moss.
During the whole year of clivia care, the potted plant should often be sprayed with clean water, and after spraying it is best to wipe it dry with a fine cloth. This can both increase the glossiness of the leaves and improve the ornamental value.