A potted clivia eats 1 coconut and easily bursts into 30 blooms

Whether you are a flower lover in the south or a veteran grower in the north, plenty of plant owners love clivia. Clivia is a grand, dignified flower, with thick, substantial leaves and lively, fiery blooms. In the cold depths of winter in northern regions, it is one of the few touches of greenery to be seen at home. An experienced old-timer said that to care for clivia, you have to feed it some "meat" - not the fatty meat from home, but "coconut meat."

1. Clivia loves to eat "coconut meat"

This novice gardener found it quite strange when he first heard it. All I knew was that clivia loves heavy fertilizer, and it likes oily fertilizers - for example, feeding it oil-rich materials like peanut shells and sunflower seed shells makes it grow tall and sturdy, with green leaves and red flowers. But why use "coconut meat"? I hurried off to ask. The old-timer said that coconut meat contains more than 60% oil, and after being composted into fertilizer, its nutrients are very rich. It is an excellent flower fertilizer for clivia.

2. Coconut meat is good, but green fertilizer is more convenient

This novice gardener thought about it: my area is not Hainan, and coconuts seem pretty expensive, so I have hardly ever handled coconut meat, and on top of that, this stuff still needs to be fermented, which is a hassle. For caring for my clivia, I will just obediently use organic nutrient solution made specially for flowers. During the growing period I use fertilizer that strengthens roots and seedlings, and before the flowering period I should use fertilizer that promotes and preserves blooms - it can even extend the flowering period. For home use, it is green and safe. So how did the old-timer use coconut meat?

3. Feeding flowers with coconut meat depends on time for fermentation

Those leftover leaves still have a lot of coconut meat inside. After prying open the hard coconut shell, dig out the remaining coconut meat, collect it, break it up a little, then put it into a bottle, close the bottle mouth, and place it in the sun to speed up fermentation. Wait until the coconut meat floats up on its own and breaks apart as soon as you stir it, and then it is ready to use. It takes a long time - at the fastest 3 months, at the slowest 1 year. The fermentation time depends on the ambient temperature and light.

However, coconut meat fertilizer must be diluted before use, preferably diluted 100 times, to ensure safety and avoid burning the roots. Some clivia owners will say that coconut meat takes so long to ferment that the clivia in the pot will starve to death. Do not panic - besides coconut meat, we can also use coconut shells, which are also a great thing for growing clivia.

4. Coconut shells make flower soil that is airy and drains well

Inside the coconut shell there is a layer of net-like material. This material is coir, much like the palm bark we often talk about that drains and breathes extremely well. So we can collect this material, cut it up, then put it under the sun to bake for more than 1 week. After disinfecting and sterilizing it, it can be mixed into the soil to plant clivia, because its drainage and breathability are extremely good, so it is very practical.

5. Fertilizing at no fixed time makes clivia burst its pot

This novice gardener needs to remind beginner clivia owners of one thing: if the growing medium you use to care for clivia is mainly large-particle medium, then you must do a good job of topdressing. Prepare Huadongde organic nutrient solution, and basically you have to topdress it once every 1-2 weeks, only then can you guarantee the nutrition. But if you use more fine soil, then the frequency of fertilizing must be appropriately stretched out. This cannot be done on a fixed schedule - keep this point in mind.

Hearing a word from an old-timer is better than pondering it yourself for half a month. It turns out clivia can also be grown this way. This novice gardener has no coconut on hand; otherwise, I would want to try it right now. Clivia owners, do you think this method is reliable?