What to do when a clivia gets its flower stalk stuck? Try tying the leaves on both sides and pouring beer into the pot

Gardeners are all familiar with the clivia, which has thick, broad leaves that are emerald green and beautiful. But it is precisely because the leaves are large that clivias often suffer from a stuck flower stalk, meaning the flower is trapped by the leaves and cannot open. So what should you do when a clivia gets its flower stalk stuck? It is actually very simple: tie the leaves on both sides together, or pour beer into the potting soil! Does that sound shocking? Let's find out together.

1. What to do when a clivia gets its flower stalk stuck: find the cause

In daily life, many gardeners grow clivias, and everyone more or less runs into the stuck flower stalk phenomenon. It refers to the situation when a clivia is blooming but the stalk cannot push out, trapped among the leaves, unable to grow upward and with nowhere to go downward. Just looking at it is uncomfortable; if not dealt with in time, the beautiful flower will die! As for what to do when a clivia gets its flower stalk stuck, here are several causes and solutions.

2. Causes of a stuck flower stalk in clivias and solutions

1. Temperature too low

When it comes to the causes of a stuck flower stalk in clivias, we should first think of temperature, because the optimal growing temperature for clivias is 20°C. Once the temperature drops below 15°C, the flower stalk is very hard to grow out.

Solution: Move the clivia to a dark place (away from light) and keep the temperature at around 18-22°C. Generally, the flower stalk will push out within 3-5 days. The reason is actually very simple: clivias have the trait of stretching upward and growing leggy under dark conditions, so if you then give it the optimal temperature, the flower stalk will push out.

2. Small day-night temperature difference

Besides low temperature, the size of the day-night temperature difference also has a certain effect on flower stalk growth. If it is the same temperature day and night, such as in the hot summer, the clivia will not accumulate enough nutrients, and the flower stalk will not have enough strength to grow out.

Solution: Before the clivia pushes out its stalk, put the pot in a room with air conditioning, or place it outdoors at night and move it back indoors during the day, using the increased day-night temperature difference to help the flower stalk push out.

3. Insufficient nutrition

Besides temperature, poor nutrition is also a cause of a stuck flower stalk in clivias. This is because when blooming, clivias need a certain amount of nutrients - phosphorus and potassium fertilizer - and many gardeners overlook this, which leads to the stuck flower stalk.

Solution: After noticing the flower stalk emerging, water appropriately more to keep the potting soil moist. Spray monopotassium phosphate, or other foliar fertilizer, on the leaves and roots to increase nutrition. After a few days, the stuck clivia flower stalk will grow out.

3. Emergency treatment for a stuck flower stalk in clivias

1. Pour beer on a clivia with a stuck flower stalk

If the stuck flower stalk appears and you do not know how to deal with it, you can pour beer into the potting soil. The beer can be diluted or not, and poured into the flower pot. The reason is that beer is both nutritious and effective at prompting the flower stalk to push out.

2. Increase the temperature

After a stuck flower stalk appears in a clivia, gardeners can use heating methods to encourage the stalk to push out. Method one: wrap the clivia in a plastic bag and put it outside in the sun; method two: place the flower pot on a heated kang to promote rapid growth so the flower stalk pushes out as soon as possible; method three: soak the potted clivia in warm water to promote rapid growth.

3. Cut with a knife

Besides the above methods, emergency treatment for a stuck flower stalk in clivias can also use a knife. At this point, gardeners can use a small knife to gently cut the base of the leaves on both sides of the stuck flower stalk a little to relieve the pressure, taking care not to injure the flower stalk.

4. The brute-force solution for a stuck flower stalk in clivias

What to do when a clivia gets its flower stalk stuck? Besides the above six methods, there is one simplest method, and that is brute-force tying. As shown in the picture above, use thick rope to tie the leaves on both sides of the clivia together, giving the flower stalk space to push out. Of course, in the end you still use the above methods, because brute-force tying may harm the clivia.

What to do when a clivia does not bloom or gets its flower stalk stuck? Solve it all with these 3 methods!!

[Reader] Because I like clivia flowers, I grew a pot. At first I was always afraid I could not keep it alive, but now I find that clivias are easy to keep alive but hard to get to bloom!! Either it does not bloom for a long time, or it finally blooms but gets trapped by the leaves. What should I do?

[Answer] There may be many reasons that cause a clivia not to bloom or to bloom poorly, but generally they can all be easily solved with the following three methods:

Image: clivia

1. Adjust the potting soil temperature

If the clivia enters its flowering period and the temperature is below 12°C or above 25°C, it will affect the elongation of the flower stalk, causing failure to bloom or a stuck flower stalk. If it is caused by low temperature, use the method of raising the potting soil temperature to make the flower stalk push out; if it is caused by high temperature, put the flower pot in cold water or a ventilated place to cool it down, or spray water on the ground and add ice cubes, etc.

2. Pour beer

If you find that the clivia is having difficulty blooming, take half a small cup of beer, dilute it with water 15-20 times, and pour it into the soil. In about 3-5 days the flower stalk will push out.

3. Operate on the clivia

Some clivias have leaf bases and pseudobulbs that are too tight, creating great pressure that blocks the flower stalk from elongating. You can use a sharp knife that has been thoroughly disinfected and sterilized to cut about half an inch into the leaf bases on both sides of the flower stalk. If you cannot bear to use a knife, you can also use rope to tie the side leaves so the flower buds are exposed, reducing the pressure of the leaf bases on the flower stalk and letting the flower stalk push out smoothly.

Image: clivia with a stuck flower stalk

Ways to avoid difficulty blooming in clivias:

1. When a clivia enters the bud-forming and flowering period, neglecting fertilization also affects stalk pushing. From September each year to June of the following year, strengthen fertilization. You can use cake fertilizer, decomposed chicken manure, bone meal and other fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium, or directly apply 1% monopotassium phosphate, once every 10-15 days.

2. Insufficient water can also cause a stuck flower stalk. When pushing out the stalk, the water demand is relatively large, so give sufficient water and pay attention to loosening the soil to prevent the soil from compacting.
    The above is the answer to why clivias do not bloom or bloom poorly. If gardeners run into this problem again next time, they can try these three methods!!