How do you grow a clivia so it grows faster?
Clivia is a noble, dignified and reserved high-grade precious flower, also known as sword-leaf lycoris, large-leaf lycoris, etc. It is a perennial herbaceous ornamental plant of the genus Clivia in the Amaryllidaceae family, native to southern South Africa. Its flowering period lasts 30 to 50 days, mainly in winter and spring, but it also blooms around the period from New Year's Day to the Spring Festival. Now let us take a look at how to grow clivia so it grows fast!
How do you grow clivia so it grows fast?
1. Soil: Clivia suits acidic soil rich in humus, and it must also have good aeration, with sufficient moisture but not over-saturated. It can be mixed from 65% humus soil, 20% clean sand and 15% fine furnace ash, and the soil needs to be changed constantly during growth.
2. Fertilizing: Clivia should be given a solid fertilizer once in winter, with less nitrogen fertilizer and more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. A nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound fertilizer can also be applied to promote the sprouting of more new shoots and leaves, but fertilizing must be done in the right amount, and never apply concentrated fertilizer or raw fertilizer that has not been fermented and decomposed.
3. Watering: About every 20 days, clivia can be given fermented soybean cake water, diluted fishy water, water from soaking water chestnuts, etc. together with watering. When the room temperature is low, watering should be controlled to prevent the potting soil from becoming too wet. Potting soil that is too wet will cause the plant to rot at the roots and die, but the potting soil must not be allowed to become too dry either.
4. Temperature: The suitable temperature for clivia growth in winter is 15 to 20°C, and it is best not to go below 10°C. After the flower stem shoots up, the temperature should be kept at around 18°C, and the day-night temperature difference is best around 10°C; otherwise the flower stem will bloom before reaching the proper height, and it easily forms a “clamped arrow”.
5. Light: Clivia is a medium-light plant, and diffused light is best. It does not need strong light during growth, and especially in summer direct sunlight must be avoided. In winter, strong light during the flowering period will shorten the flowering period, while medium light can prolong it. If earlier blooming is needed, short-day treatment can be used.
Why does clivia not bloom?
1. Improper nutrition: After clivia enters the reproductive stage, part of the nutrients must be supplied to the reproductive organs for flower bud differentiation. If too much nitrogen fertilizer is used and phosphorus fertilizer is lacking at this time, the plant will grow excessively, so that flower bud differentiation cannot proceed normally, thus affecting normal blooming.
2. Water imbalance: The life activities of clivia require water, and the nutrients in the soil can only be absorbed by the root hairs after being dissolved in water. Therefore, watering should be reasonable so that the plant grows well vegetatively, and after entering the reproductive growth stage it can carry out normal flower bud differentiation and bloom in time.
3. Improper light: Clivia is a plant of medium day length. Under long-day conditions it can only grow and cannot carry out flower bud differentiation, so it is slow to bloom. To make clivia bloom, it must be moved in the evening to a room where the lights are not turned on. Once the flower scape has emerged, it no longer matters.
4. Improper temperature: Clivia stops growing when the temperature is below 10°C or above 30°C. If the room temperature is too high or too low, the plant will grow poorly, which in turn affects bud formation and blooming. Therefore, for growing clivia, a room temperature of 11 to 17°C is appropriate.
What should be done about a clamped arrow in clivia?
1. Improper temperature: The suitable growth temperature for clivia is 15 to 25°C. Below 15°C it grows poorly. Especially before the scape emerges, if the temperature does not reach above 15°C, the flower scape is difficult to push out. Therefore, the temperature should be adjusted in time to help the flower scape emerge.
2. Insufficient temperature difference: Clivia's growth habit favors a large day-night temperature difference. If the temperature difference is small, it is difficult to push out the scape. After flower bud differentiation and before the arrow shoots up, the temperature should be controlled at around 10°C, and then the arrow shoots out more easily; otherwise the clamped arrow phenomenon will occur.
3. Insufficient fertilizing: After clivia has been grown for 3 years, the number of fertilizer applications must be increased once autumn arrives. It is best to apply liquid fertilizer with a relatively high phosphorus content, and alternating nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is best. When necessary, a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate foliar fertilizer can be added to promote flower bud formation and earlier blooming.
4. Improper watering: If there is a lack of water when clivia shoots its arrow, the growth of the flower scape will also be blocked and cause a clamped arrow. Therefore, when the arrow is shooting, the amount of watering should be increased to keep the potting soil moist; otherwise the bulb and leaves will suffer from lack of water, blocking the plant's physiological activities, so that the clamped arrow affects blooming.
5. Excessive pressure: When clivia shifts to reproductive growth, observe the changes in the bulb often. If the clamped arrow is caused by excessive pressure from the bulb, a sharp knife can be used to cut open the leaf sheath clamping the arrow scape by 1.5 cm, to reduce the pressure of the leaf sheath base on the arrow scape and encourage the scape to emerge.
How should clivia be managed in winter?
1. Fertilizing: Clivia has the fastest vegetative growth rate in winter and needs the most nutrients, so applying winter fertilizer well is very important. Before bringing the flower pot indoors, use bone meal, fried sesame, cooked soybeans, etc. or compound fertilizer diluted with water and apply once every 15 to 20 days, or use soaking liquid from animal and plant residues to water the roots.
2. Watering: Clivia has fleshy roots, likes air and fears waterlogging, and its leaves have a waxy layer. In winter the temperature is low, and transpiration and evaporation of water are low. Therefore, watering should not be excessive; just water together with fertilizing and keep the potting soil moist. Never flood-irrigate, which causes root rot and dead seedlings.
3. Heat preservation: In winter, clivia must be kept warm and protected from freezing. After the flower stem emerges, maintaining around 18°C is appropriate. If the temperature is too high, the leaves and flower scape will grow excessively and become thin, 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, and it is prone to clamped arrows and premature birth (blooming), affecting quality and reducing ornamental value.
4. Light adjustment: Clivia likes diffused light and avoids direct strong light. For indoor care in winter, it should be placed in a spot with sufficient light, especially before blooming, where there must be good light to help the flower buds develop plump and strong. After blooming, appropriately lower the temperature and avoid strong light, and keep good ventilation, which helps prolong the flowering period.
5. Protecting leaves: Clivia with plump leaves and strong flowers, green leaves and brilliant flowers, and short, broad, thick, green, glossy and upright leaves are healthy characteristics, and are also the basis for promoting blooming and improving ornamental value. To maintain robust leaf quality, besides providing reasonable fertilizer and water, the leaf surface must be kept clean to improve photosynthetic efficiency.