What to Do About Root Rot in Clivia? The Correct Way to Handle It

Clivia root rot can occur in all four seasons, but it happens most often in summer, mainly because of the specific environment of high temperature and high humidity and because growers lack care knowledge. The main causes of clivia root rot and control measures are described below.

Clivia root rot caused by improper pot selection

These days, some people grow clivias in ceramic pots, plastic pots or purple clay pots for the sake of appearance, but these pots have poor air and water permeability. After watering in summer, because the pot has poor permeability and air circulation is difficult, the roots' respiration is blocked, causing root rot.

Clivia root rot caused by improper watering and fertilizing

Some people grow clivias in clay pots, but for fear that the plants lack water and fertilizer in summer, they water as soon as the pot surface soil looks dry (when in fact the potting soil is still moist), and they often apply concentrated fertilizer. Add to this the fact that certain harmful bacteria multiply quickly in summer, and root rot results.

How can clivia root rot be prevented?

Whether clivia is in the vegetative growth stage (from seedling stage to before flowering) or the reproductive growth stage (after flowering begins), its suitable growing temperature is 15-25 degrees. Ordinary households that grow clivia generally lack the necessary environmental equipment, so they should proceed from actual conditions. In the hot and humid summer, in addition to taking measures such as shading, ventilation and cooling, they should also, from the perspective of controlling its growth (keeping the plant in a dormant or semi-dormant state, which is beneficial to its growth and development in other seasons), strengthen root care in summer.

1. Use clay pots to grow clivia.

2. Do not fertilize in summer, or apply only a small amount of dilute liquid fertilizer.

3. Control watering in summer, and insist on never watering unless the soil has dried out completely. To prevent the roots from being smothered by too much water in summer, you can use a large wooden box filled with moist sawdust and bury the flowerpot in it (do not water inside the pot), then check regularly and spray on more water when the sawdust dries out.

Emergency measures for clivia root rot

If root rot unfortunately occurs, rescue the plant quickly. First take the clivia with rotten roots out of the pot, remove the soil, cut off the orchid roots, wash the roots with clean water, then soak the roots in a potassium permanganate aqueous solution. After that, wrap all the leaves in white paper, leaving the roots exposed, face the roots toward the sun, and sun them for half an hour, using ultraviolet rays to kill the pathogens. After the above treatment, if only a few roots of the diseased plant have rotted, it can be planted directly into sterilized nutrient soil, watered sparingly for the first half month, and growth can resume after one and a half months; if more than half or all of the roots of the diseased plant have rotted, it should be planted in a pot filled with fine sand and placed in a cool place to wait for new roots to sprout. After about 2 months, when new roots have grown, replace the nutrient soil and normal care can then be carried out.