How to grow potted Clivia? Detailed guide to cultivation methods and precautions
Clivia, also known as sword-leaf lycoris and large-leaf lycoris, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Clivia in the Amaryllidaceae family. It is native to southern South Africa. Its plant shape is dignified and graceful, its leaves are verdant and upright, its flowers are large and brightly colored, and its fruits are bright red. Leaves, flowers and fruits are all beautiful, earning it the reputation of flowers in one season, fruits in three seasons, and foliage in all four seasons. In China it is often grown in pots in greenhouses for ornamental purposes. Let us take a look below at how to grow potted Clivia!
The growth habits of Clivia
Clivia is native to the subtropical mountain forests of southern Africa, growing beneath trees. It fears both heat and cold, prefers a semi-shaded and humid environment, and dreads strong direct sunlight. The optimal temperature for growth is between 18 and 28°C, and growth is inhibited below 10°C and above 30°C. It likes a ventilated environment and prefers deep, fertile, loose soil, and is suitable for growing in loose, fertile, slightly acidic organic soil.
Propagation methods for Clivia
1. Sowing: Before sowing Clivia, soak the seeds in warm water at 30-35°C for 20-30 minutes, then remove them, air-dry for 1-2 hours, and sow them into the growing medium. After sowing, place the flower pot in an environment at room temperature of 20-25°C with humidity around 90%, and the radicle will sprout in about 1-2 weeks. There are many materials that can be used for the growing medium, but one that is relatively easy to obtain is loose soil taken from the surface layer of woodland that is rich in humus, mixed with 1/3 clean fine sandy soil.
2. Division: When dividing Clivia, first take the mother plant out of the pot, remove the old soil, find the axillary buds that can be divided, and break off the offsets. Never force them off, so as not to damage the young plants. After cutting off the offset, immediately coat the wound with dry charcoal powder to absorb the flowing sap and prevent rot. Then plant the offset in a pot. Generally it takes 1-2 months to grow new roots and 1-2 years to bloom.
How to grow potted Clivia?
1. Soil: The native habitat of Clivia is beneath large trees in the forests of the high-altitude regions of southern Africa, where its root system grows into layers of fallen leaves that have accumulated over many years. For cultivating Clivia, a loose, fertile neutral or weakly acidic humus soil should be used. The growing soil can be mixed from 65% humus soil, 20% clean sand, and 15% fine furnace ash, with a relative humidity of about 40%.
2. Fertilizing: Clivia should be given one application of solid fertilizer in winter, with less nitrogen fertilizer and 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. A compound fertilizer of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium can also be applied to encourage the sprouting of more new plants and leaves. Fertilizing must be done in appropriate amounts, and never apply concentrated fertilizer or raw fertilizer that has not been fermented and decomposed, otherwise it can easily cause scorched leaf tips or rot.
3. Watering: Clivia should not be too dry or too wet. Each watering must soak through, and after flower buds appear, a little more water should be given. About every 20 days, in combination with watering, apply once fermented soybean cake water, diluted fishy water, or water from soaking water chestnuts, combining watering with fertilizing. When 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 most suitable growth temperature for Clivia is 15-25°C. Growth stops at 10°C, and frost damage occurs at 0°C. Therefore, in winter it must be kept warm and protected from freezing. After the flower stem emerges, maintaining around 18°C is advisable. If the temperature is too high, the leaves and flower scape will grow leggy, thin and weak, 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, easily causing stuck arrows and premature birth, affecting quality and thereby reducing ornamental value.
5. Light: Clivia is a medium-light plant, and diffuse light is best during growth. It does not need strong light during growth, especially in summer when direct sunlight must be avoided. Proper shading is beneficial to leaf growth. If strong light is encountered during the winter flowering period, the flowering period will be shortened. Moderate light can extend the flowering period. If earlier flowering is desired in winter, short-day treatment can be used.
Four-season management of Clivia
1. Spring: In early spring, after Clivia has passed through winter dormancy, its root system begins to revive. Due to a lack of nutrient supply, after exposure to wind and sun the leaves will show dehydration, causing their luster to fade and their hardness and thickness to decrease. In severe cases, yellow leaves, rotten leaves and other conditions may even occur. Therefore, keeping the potted plant generally moist is sufficient; too much watering can easily cause root rot. Do not spray water before the arrow emerges and the plant blooms. Apply fully decomposed liquid fertilizer once a week or once every half month, but follow the principle of "light fertilizer applied frequently", and never apply concentrated fertilizer or raw fertilizer, so as to avoid leaf scorch and root rot.
2. Summer: Clivia is not strict about light, prefers semi-shade, and fears direct light. Because summer temperatures and soil temperatures are relatively high, the root system is prone to disturbance, leading to unbalanced nutrient absorption and causing phenomena such as neck stretching and leaf bolting. In addition, due to strong sunlight, transpiration is greatly increased, and if watering is improper, the leaf color will become dull and scorched yellow, or even wilt.
3. Autumn: After autumn begins, the climate gradually turns cooler. During periods of continuous autumn rain, mature Clivia have more opportunities to cut arrows and set seeds and to send up arrows and bloom. If they are exposed to rain or watered too much at this time, root rot, arrow rot, heart rot and other conditions will occur. Therefore, when the arrow emerges and the plant blooms, do not spray water. About every half month, water once with decomposed cake fertilizer water (1:3). When watering, prevent water from soaking into the center of the leaf cluster, and do not let rainwater pour into the leaf cluster either, so as to avoid rot of the core. In severe cases, the entire plant may even rot and die.