How to grow Clivia? Clever use of larch leaf mold, leaves grow big and wide

If Clivia is grown well, it can bloom several times a year. Some friends grow theirs thin and spindly, and it does not bloom for years. That may mean your method is wrong. So how exactly should Clivia be grown to thrive well? Actually, Clivia does not need too much pampering. Use this method to grow Clivia, and the leaves will grow wide and big, and it will bloom twice a year.

1. Soil. To grow Clivia, the soil must be matched correctly first. To garden soil you can add some fertile leaf mold and pine needle soil, so it is loose and fertile, and you can also add some large river sand particles to increase aeration. Only with good soil can Clivia grow well and produce many leaves.

Some friends use leaf mold from mountain forests, mix it with some decomposed chicken manure and pig manure fertilizer, and blend it with soil. It is loose, breathable and fertile, very suitable for Clivia growth, and the roots grow especially healthy.

2. Light. Clivia is usually cared for in diffused light. In summer it must not be exposed to strong sun, and must be half-shaded. If you have a small yard, or there are other larger potted plants on the balcony, placing it under other plants is even better. Spring and autumn are the fastest growing seasons, so Clivia needs sufficient light every day in spring, autumn and winter.

But if the light is too strong, Clivia leaves will fade from green and turn yellow, showing yellow leaves. In winter a few Clivia grow slowly, or stop growing, even going into "dormancy". If planted outdoors in small quantities, a tall shade shed needs to be built in a ventilated spot to create diffused light conditions. Household potted plants can be moved indoors to a ventilated spot with diffused light, or given appropriate shading.

3. Watering. Water when the surface of the potting soil is dry; do not wait until the soil is completely dry before watering. In summer water more, but there should be no standing water in the pot.

The main thing is not to overwater. If you overwater, water accumulates, or the ambient humidity is too high, the young leaves of Clivia easily turn tender yellow, and gradually the tips of old leaves wither and yellow. Check whether the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot is blocked, loosen the soil, ventilate, and change the soil. Supplement with zhongshengmycin or kasugamycin sprayed on the leaves once every 7-10 days. Use 2-3 times to prevent and treat bacterial infection of the roots. Agricultural oxytetracycline and other antibacterial drugs can also be used.

4. Repotting. After Clivia finishes flowering in spring, repot it once and change the soil once. Add a small amount of organic compound fertilizer, or decomposed chicken manure or pig manure fertilizer, to the soil, and its leaves will grow especially fast, wide and big.

5. Fertilizing. June is a key growth period, so you can fertilize more, spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate on the leaves, and bury a small amount of decomposed chicken manure fertilizer, or some crushed eggshells, in the soil at the edge of the pot. With enough nutrition, Clivia can grow vigorously and bloom abundantly.

Master these few key points in growing Clivia, and it is actually not hard to get a full pot. I hope flower lovers who want to grow it can learn from this.

Clivia nobilis Lindl. Clivia nobilis illustrated guide: how to grow Clivia nobilis / how to propagate Clivia nobilis

How to grow Clivia nobilis, cultivation methods, disease and pest control

Clivia nobilis is a plant of the genus Clivia in the Amaryllidaceae family. It is distributed in southern Africa and in Hubei Province and other places in mainland China, and has been introduced and cultivated artificially. Below, the editor introduces how to grow Clivia nobilis, bringing an introduction to the cultivation methods and disease and pest control of Clivia nobilis.

Introduction to Clivia nobilis

Clivia nobilis (scientific name: Clivia nobilis Lindl.) is a plant of the genus Clivia in the Amaryllidaceae family. It is distributed in southern Africa and in Hubei Province and other places in mainland China, and has been introduced and cultivated artificially. The plant height is 38 cm, the flowers droop downward, orange-yellow with a hint of pale green, the leaves are narrow and long, the flower stem is slightly shorter than the leaves, the leaf color is deep green, and the appearance is elegant and solemn.

I. Morphological characteristics

Clivia nobilis is a perennial herb. The roots are fleshy and grayish white.

The persistent leaf bases at the stem base of Clivia nobilis are bulb-like. There are about a dozen basal leaves, thick in texture, dark green, glossy, strap-shaped, 25-40 cm long, 3-3.5 cm wide, with rough edges. The flower stem of Clivia nobilis emerges from the leaf cluster and is slightly shorter than the leaves; the umbel is terminal, with about 10-30 small flowers, each small flower having 6 petals, 6 stamens and 1 pistil. The flower colors of Clivia nobilis include orange-yellow, orange-red, deep red and so on. It is many-flowered, and the flowers droop slightly when blooming; the perianth is narrowly funnel-shaped, orange-red, and the inner whorl perianth lobes are lighter in color; the stamens are nearly equal in length to the perianth; the style is long and slightly extends beyond the perianth.

The flowering period of Clivia nobilis is from December to May of the following year, and the flowering period lasts as long as 30-50 days. Cross-pollination, berry, the fruit is green when immature, and the seeds take 8-9 months to mature.

II. Ecological habits

Clivia nobilis prefers a warm and cool environment. It needs sufficient sunlight in winter and slight shading in summer. It requires loose and fertile leaf mold. When the winter room temperature is below 5°C it stops growing, or when summer is above 30°C the flowering time is short and the color is pale.

Clivia nobilis requires air humidity of 70%-80% and soil moisture content of 20%-30%. Too much soil moisture easily causes root rot.

How to grow Clivia nobilis

I. Cultivation methods

1. Propagation

Propagation by division and by sowing. For division, after flowering each spring, remove the offsets beside the mother plant and plant them separately. If the offset has no fleshy roots, it can first be inserted in sand, and potted after rooting.

For sowing, sow in pots indoors in winter, and the room temperature needs to be above 20°C, otherwise the seeds easily rot. They germinate 20-25 days after sowing, and seedlings grown from seed must be cultivated for 4-5 years before they can bloom.

2. Soil

Clivia nobilis is suitable for soil rich in humus. This kind of soil has good air permeability, good water permeability, and is fertile, with a slightly acidic pH of 6.5.

Mixing about 20% sand grains into the humus soil is beneficial for root growth. When cultivating, the pot used gradually increases as the plant grows. When cultivating one-year-old seedlings, a 3-inch pot is suitable.

In the second year change to a 5-inch pot, and afterward repot into a pot one size larger every 1-2 years. Repotting can be done in spring and autumn.

3. Planting

In early spring, from February to May, plant the offset young plants into pots filled with nutrient soil. Generally, a flower pot 25 cm in diameter should hold only 1 plant.

If the young plant does not have a well-developed bulb, first plant it in sandy soil, and after the root system is well developed, transplant it into a pot.

This is because planting it directly into the prepared planting pot above makes it difficult to root. If conditions do not allow you to find sandy soil, you can also plant it directly into the pot, only it will take a little longer.

Bulbs sown generally sprout 20-25 days after sowing; for seeds sown, first soak the seeds in warm water at about 40°C for about 24 hours, sow the seeds 0.5-1 cm below the surface soil, placing the seeds with the seed pore facing down and the ventral and dorsal sides facing up. After watering thoroughly, it is best to cover with plastic film or glass to help raise the soil temperature and promote seed germination; if the temperature is too low and the seeds cannot emerge for a long time, they are prone to rot. At a temperature of about 20°C, they germinate in about 60 days, and seedlings grown from seed must be cultivated for 3-5 years before they can bloom.

4. Fertilization

Clivia nobilis likes fertilizer, but too much fertilizer can cause root rot. In addition to applying base fertilizer, topdressing should adopt the method of "light fertilizer applied frequently." Apply base fertilizer when repotting.

In spring and autumn, apply fermented solid fertilizer once every month, and then apply liquid fertilizer once a week. It is best not to topdress; the whole plant can rely on the nutrients accumulated in spring and autumn to grow slowly. When applying solid fertilizer, open the pot soil and bury it 2 cm deep into the soil, do not let it directly touch the root system to avoid burning; when applying liquid fertilizer, for young plants a fertilizer:water ratio of 1:40 is better, and for large and medium plants 1:20 is better. The best time to fertilize is early morning, and avoid splashing it onto the leaves. After applying liquid fertilizer, water once promptly, but the water does not need to be too much; on the one hand it dissolves the fertilizer, and on the other hand it can rinse the newly grown fleshy roots to prevent damage to the new roots.

Depending on the season, the types of fertilizer should be emphasized differently. In winter and spring, apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, such as bone meal, etc.; in autumn, apply more nitrogen fertilizer, such as soybean cake water;

In summer, foliar topdressing is commonly used, spraying the leaf surface with 0.1% potassium dihydrogen phosphate or superphosphate, etc. Foliar topdressing can be carried out in all four seasons of the year.

5. Light

Throughout the entire cultivation process, try not to let the plant receive direct sunlight. Having about four hours a day in diffused sunlight is enough. Too strong light will make the leaves narrower.

Clivia nobilis avoids high temperatures and scorching sun in summer. It should be placed in an environment with relatively high air humidity and shade, and attention should be paid to ventilation.

In winter, Clivia nobilis fears cold, so it should be moved indoors and placed in a position with ample light. A room temperature of about 5°C is enough for it to overwinter safely.

If conditions permit, it is best to keep the ambient temperature stable between 15-25°C.

6. Temperature

The suitable temperature for Clivia is 15-20°C. When it is above 25°C, the plant grows poorly, and leaf etiolation often occurs, affecting flower bud differentiation. At this time, pay attention to ventilation and cooling; when it is below 10°C, growth is slow; when it drops below 0°C, it will cause the plant to freeze to death.

In summer, pay attention to cooling, which can promote flower bud differentiation. A large temperature difference between day and night is beneficial to the growth of Clivia, generally 6-10°C is suitable.

The leaves grow obliquely upward to both sides and are arranged in a fan shape. During care, the direction of light can be adjusted so that the direction in which the leaves extend is parallel to the direction of the light, that is, so that the tips of the leaves on one side point toward the light source, and indoors point toward the window, and turn the flower pot 180 degrees every week so that the tips of the leaves on the other side point toward the window.

In this way, the continuously growing leaves can be arranged neatly, looking like an open fan from the front and like a line from the side.

It is also possible, after the sown seedlings have grown for one year, to bend lead wire into a formed frame and clip the leaves inside it to control them, then remove the lead wire frame after one year. This can prevent the leaves from growing crooked. If later a few individual leaves are still skewed, you can make a paper sleeve out of black paper and cover it, and they can naturally straighten within 10-15 days.

7. Watering

Potted plants should not be watered too much; moist is enough. In the plum rain season from May to June, prevent rain from washing over them, so as to avoid root and leaf diseases and rot.

During the high-temperature period in summer, pay attention to spraying water to lower the temperature. In autumn, appropriately topdress to promote leaf growth. In winter, increasing warmth and keeping the soil moist is beneficial to flowering.

II. Disease Control of Clivia nobilis

The main diseases of Clivia nobilis include soft rot, anthracnose, leaf spot, southern blight, etc. The main pests are scale insects.

1. Blight spot disease

It mainly harms leaves. Initially, light reddish-brown, elliptical elongated spots appear, the boundary between diseased and healthy tissue is obvious, and the surrounding tissue turns yellow.

When diseased leaves are found, cut them off promptly; appropriately apply more potassium fertilizer, avoid excessive watering and water accumulation on the leaves; in the early stage of the disease, spray with 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 1000 times dilution.

2. Root rot disease (soft rot)

During cultivation, tools and substrate must be strictly disinfected; in the early stage of the disease, irrigate the roots with 400-600 μg/L penicillin or streptomycin.

In severe cases, cut off all the rotten parts, soak the remaining part in potassium permanganate solution for 1 hour, then wash it clean with clear water and replant.

3. Sunscald

The leaves all turn yellow, caused by long periods of strong direct light in summer. Shaded cultivation should be adopted, and leaves that have already turned yellow can be cut off.

4. Anthracnose

This disease mostly occurs in rainy and humid seasons, and the lesions are mostly on the edges of the middle and lower leaves. In the early stage of the disease, moist brown small spots appear on the leaves, and later gradually expand into elliptical lesions, and concentric rings form on the lesions. In the later stage, the lesions dry up, and many small black dots are scattered on them.

Control methods: First, in late autumn or early spring, remove dead branches and fallen leaves and promptly cut off diseased branches, and burn them together;

Second, before the disease occurs, spray with 65% zineb at 600 times dilution for protection;

Third, fertilize and water reasonably, and pay attention to ventilation and light transmission;

Fourth, in the early stage of the disease, spray with 50% carbendazim diluted 500-800 times, or 50% thiophanate liquid, or spray with 75% chlorothalonil liquid diluted 600-800 times.

5. "Clip arrow" disease

In cultivation, Clivia nobilis often shows the phenomenon that after budding it cannot send out the scape and cannot bloom, which is called "clip arrow."

This is related to temperature and fertilizer. The main cause of clip arrow is unsuitable temperature.

The flowering period of Clivia nobilis is mostly from December to March of the following year. At this time, if the room temperature is below 14°C and the temperature difference between day and night is very small, the flower stem grows slowly after emerging, causing the clip arrow phenomenon.

The solution is: when the flower stem shows its head, immediately raise the room temperature to above 20°C, and at night the room temperature is best around 12°C, so that the temperature difference between day and night reaches above 18°C, which can prevent clip arrow.

You can also pour 25°C warm water into the soil to force the arrow. When the room temperature is too low, you can make a frame out of plastic film and cover it outside the flower pot, place it in the sun, to increase the temperature and force the "arrow."

Improper fertilizer and water management can also cause the "clip arrow" phenomenon, so sufficient fertilizer should be applied before flowering to promote the growth of flower buds and flower stems with enough nutrients.

When the flower stem grows, it needs enough water to elongate quickly, so from when the flower stem shows its head until before flowering, the soil should be kept moist, and a small amount of liquid fertilizer should be applied.

6. Scale insects

Manual control can be used, using bamboo sticks, small wooden sticks, small soft brushes, etc., to gently brush off the insect bodies and sooty mold-like matter, then wash clean with clear water. During the nymph stage, spray with jiemanling emulsion at 40-100 times dilution.