How do you grow a clivia so it bursts out of its pot? Just add a few of these things to the pot
Clivia is a plant of the amaryllis family; it usually blooms in winter and spring and even at other times, and its flowers are bright and beautiful, making it very suitable for growing indoors. A flower lover's clivia has been grown for over ten years, and it still keeps putting out new shoots, blooming, and growing vigorously. How exactly is that done?
When you first bring a clivia home, you must check the potting soil. Although this growing medium is loose and airy between the chunks, it holds water far too well and very easily causes clivia root rot. It is not suitable for growing clivia. So change the soil promptly.
When changing the soil, you can mix in some river sand and a portion of leaf mould (soil dug where there are trees on a mountain, where there are lots of leaves, contains more humus), so it will have nutrients and drain better.
An old flower lover who grows clivia uses this soil mix: seventy percent leaf mould, and the leaves in it must be fully rotted, plus pine bark or pine needles, preferably ones that have been left to ferment for three months.
Before use, heat it on high in the microwave for fifteen minutes to disinfect and sterilise it at high temperature. The clivia grown in it is in very good condition.
If a clivia blooms little or not at all, it is very likely that the soil has not been changed for a long time, or that there is not enough fertiliser. So increase phosphorus and potassium fertiliser promptly.
Phosphorus fertiliser is very easy to find at home: fish scales, fish innards, shrimp shells, fruit peels, rotten vegetable leaves. Add some water, put them in a sealed pot or jar, and after they have fully rotted and fermented they can be used directly as fertiliser; it is a fertiliser rich in phosphorus.
Crush these things and stir them into the flower soil; the clivia's leaves will be glossy and its flowers brightly coloured, and the fertiliser effect can last one or two years.
Wash eggshells, dry them in the sun and crush them, then add them directly to the soil for growing clivia, making up a quarter of it. It is a very long-lasting phosphorus fertiliser; the flowers the clivia produces will be large and brightly coloured, and it may even set fruit.
Potassium fertiliser is also something there is plenty of in daily life. Leftover tea leaves, water from washing rice, wood ash water, and the water from rinsing out milk bottles are all very good potassium fertilisers, and all can be used to water clivia, a small amount each time; the rice-washing water is best left to stand for a while before use.
These can make the clivia's root system well developed and its branches and leaves lush.
In addition, whatever soil you use to grow clivia, you must add some coarse-grained material to the pot, so that its roots can breathe, the soil will not compact, water will not accumulate, and the root system can grow even more robust and well developed. These coarse grains can also be found at any time: large grains of river sand, or coal cinders, or clay pebbles, or pieces of brick and tile, or crushed peanut shells.
And a reminder: do not change the soil when the temperature is above 25°C in hot weather; generally autumn is the more suitable time to change the soil. After changing the soil, do not let it go short of water, put it in a ventilated spot, and do not expose it to blazing sun.
If you mix the soil and add some fertiliser according to the method described above, your clivia can also grow until it bursts out of the pot.
Grow your clivia this way, and you too can have a "someone else's" clivia
Many people, when growing clivia, find that it simply will not bloom, and when they see that other people's bloom twice a year, especially beautiful, they are very envious. In fact, whether a clivia blooms has a lot to do with the growing method. Pay good attention to the following points, and blooming will not be a problem!
As everyone knows, clivia is very delicate; if we want clivia to be sturdy with lush leaves and brilliant flowers, in our day-to-day growing we must pay more attention to temperature, soil, water, light, nutrition and so on.
1. Flower pot
Change the pot and soil in autumn, once every two years. As far as the clivia's roots are concerned, the flower pot should be one that breathes well; a clay pot is a good choice. Although it does not look beautiful enough, its breathability is very good, beyond that of ordinary flower pots.
2. Light and temperature: autumn and winter are the time when the clivia's flower buds differentiate; insufficient light is bad for flower bud differentiation, so increase direct sunlight, but avoid blazing sun in strong light; keep it outdoors with a day-night temperature difference of about 10°C for a month, then move it indoors to grow.
Clivia likes shade and is extremely shade-tolerant, but it still needs light. It can be placed somewhere at home with plenty of sunlight, avoiding blazing sun. In a dimmer indoor spot, it should be moved every half month to a brighter environment to recover for a while.
Clivia is phototropic, so you must often move the position and direction in which it is placed. Whichever side is not growing so well, put that side in the sunny position, so that it can grow symmetrically.
3. Soil and nutrition: before the clivia's flower buds differentiate, appropriately control the amount of nitrogen fertiliser and increase fertiliser containing more phosphorus. If the soil is too poor, consider changing the pot and soil, but a reminder to everyone: growing clivia with fertiliser and water too frequently can also cause the plant not to bloom.
Soil is the foundation of growing flowers; when changing the soil, you can carry over part of the old soil.
It is best to line the bottom of the flower pot with pieces of tile to help drain away standing water. The flower soil can be mixed yourself: leaf mould : coarse sand : charcoal and tile rubble : rotted manure = 5:1.5:2:1.5 (rotted manure should as far as possible be kept from touching the flower roots directly).
Remember to disinfect the soil by drying it in the sun, or you can put it in a plastic bag and sterilise it at high temperature in the microwave.
4. Water: when growing clivia, keep the potting soil moist but not soggy. Water clivia sensibly so the plant grows well, and after it enters the reproductive growth stage the flower buds differentiate and it blooms in good time. Therefore too much or too little watering will both cause root rot, which leads to the plant absorbing nutrients poorly and not blooming.
The timing and amount of watering clivia vary with the seasons. There is a secret to watering: in spring it should be on the generous side and thorough, in summer frequent and small, in autumn neither dry nor wet, and in winter water when dry and let it dry out between waterings. It is recommended to use a spray bottle to clean the leaves and raise humidity, and to water, killing three birds with one stone.
5. Fertilising
Watering and fertilising are best done at the same time; during the vigorous growth period, every 15 to 20 days, and at ordinary times also increase phosphorus and potassium fertiliser. Phosphorus and potassium fertiliser is very easy to find; you have it at home. Crushed eggshells and well-rotted water from fish scales and fish innards are especially good phosphorus fertiliser, and cigarette ash and bran ash are very good potassium fertiliser.
It is best not to use chemical fertilisers; you can buy a special fertiliser to apply. Huadongde liquid fertiliser is rich in phosphorus and potassium; using good fertiliser can sprout more new seedlings and leaves and produce more flowers.
Growing flowers takes care and attention if you are to enjoy beautiful blooms. I hope every clivia grower can take good care of their own clivia!
An old gardener tells you the points to note when growing clivia in autumn
Many flower lovers like growing clivia; clivia counts as a very common plant in life, whether for its elegant name or its brilliant flowers, but many people do not really understand its growth habits when growing it. After the start of autumn is the golden stage of clivia growth, so how to grow clivia in autumn is very important. The Huinong editor will explain to everyone how to grow clivia correctly.
First: change the pot in good time.
Many people start growing clivia when it is still a young plant, but as the flower grows, many people overlook a very important issue, which is changing the pot! A small pot grows a small flower, a big pot grows a big flower. When the clivia grows up, you should promptly change it to a slightly larger flower pot; if you do not change the pot in time, it will restrict the plant's growth. Generally speaking, for a clivia with 2 to 4 leaves, a ten-centimetre flower pot is more suitable; for 5 to 8 leaves, one of 13 cm is more suitable; for 9 to 12 leaves, a 17 cm flower pot is needed, and so on. This can provide the clivia with ample growing space and help it grow, so changing the pot in good time is very important.
Second: choosing the potting soil.
Using soil to grow flowers is no problem, but what kind of soil to use is a big matter. Soil also comes in many types, such as acidic soil and alkaline soil, and the best potting soil for growing clivia is leaf mould, or a mixed soil such as river sand, which will provide it with a suitable living environment and is more helpful for the clivia's healthy growth. What needs attention is that clay and alkaline soil are not good for the clivia's growth.
Third: ample light.
The vast majority of plants are phototropic, just like the sunflower, growing towards the sun, and clivia is no exception, so ample light is very important. Especially in autumn, the golden stage of clivia growth, you must let the clivia see as much sunlight as possible, which helps it carry out photosynthesis. When the weather is good, you can move it outside rather than always keeping it indoors, or place it somewhere by the window where it can receive sunlight.
Fourth: watering and fertilising.
Autumn is the golden season for clivia growth, so more fertiliser is needed, which can provide it with ample nutrients. You can also give it fermented fishy water once every half month. In addition, as for watering, pay attention to controlling the amount, not too much and not too little; just keep the soil in a moist state, and if the soil has not dried out thoroughly, do not water.
Doing the above four points can provide the clivia with a suitable growing environment and help it grow healthily. Did you learn something?